"»*f« 



BBWBe«wiMpwBn»8B Hii'wwiiMnrn iii w i i>MtJWMUJ <a*i 'ii w i>wia i ia. 



HIHH I W i H <t««iW W>fm> I HlW i W MM«»W«MWWMMMi 



j WiTi B riUwwww'wrrKrri^-irTTrtinriHiifcBKiiinw i ■»■■» ■ ■■■■ ■ ■■■■■■i i ( t mn n )yf nm«nn i n i, i|ii i n iii mn 






i*ww8>— ■ l yit iii mi i w i m » )nn i> iijwiwr i ii»n i n » t*^ n invt mamm'm»atiKie^m HHmm m mmji*M i m t ii 



'■'^<W«lttJK<H.# L i J.MBi l U M in 



«MHMaM«M9cita*i 



r»<ljW»o>»»»«e»<w*w»r— g*i— Mia—a 



n«iili»ii»i'iii<irii 



>i*iti*il**wii««i>iii niim —I 




Copyright N"_ 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



SOILS 

HOW TO HANDLE AND IMPROVE THEM 



THE FARM LIBRARY 



FARM ANIMALS . . . By E.V. WUcox 
COTTON . By C. W. Burkett and Clarence H. Poe 
SOILS By S.W. Fletcher 



ITbe jTarm Xtbpar)? 



SOILS 



How to Handle and I nprove Them 
By S. W. FLETCHER 

Professor of Horticulture in the Michigan Agricultural College 



Illustrated from phc. ographs 
by the autJ 




NEW YORK 

Doubleday, Page & Company 

1907 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

•JAN 81 1907 

I, Copyright Entry 
/OLASS J\ XXc, Nrf. 

U/(. 73 U-^ 



i-^ 



0,\ 



Copyright, 1907, by Doubleday, Page & Company 
Published, January, 1907 



All rights reserved, 

including that of translation into foreign languages 

including the Scandinavian 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The illustrations are by the author except No. 
24, from Rollins and Linn, Lookout Mountain, 
Tenn.; No. 78, from "Irrigation," by Newell; and 
Nos. 80, 81, 83, and 84, which are from the Office 
of Irrigation and Drainage Investigations, United 
States Department of Agriculture. 

Perhaps the most valuable feature of the book is 
the lists of crop rotations in the Appendix, which 
were contributed by authorities on this subject in 
the several states, as noted in connection with the 
lists. These courtesies are gratefully acknowl- 
edged. 



THE INFLUENCE OF 

Jo^n aoi. fepencec, Jfarmer 

HAS GIVEN GREATER SIMPLICITY AND FORCE 
TO AGRICULTURAL TEACHING 



FOREWORD 

Many of the early books on farming were 
written in a technical style. They smacked of the 
lecture room and the library rather than of the 
soil. They were scholarly rather than practical. 
A spirit of directness and simplicity is be- 
ginning to dominate agricultural literature. The 
modern type of farm books is born of actual 
contact with the soil and a desire to be of service 
to the men who are getting a living from the soil. 
They are democratic; they discuss common things 
in a plain way. The long and tedious tables of 
figures in the old books are giving place to crisp 
summaries. The technical lecture-room phrases 
are replaced by words in common use on farms. 
The idea is not to present less science — for nothing 
is so practical as sound science — but to present 
science in a simple and practical way. This new 
spirit is contemporaneous with the farmers' in- 
stitute, the farmer's reading-course, Nature-study, 
elementary agriculture in the public schools and 
other efforts to serve the man who tills the soil. 
It is an expression of a general movement which 
aims to democracise agricultural teaching. 

This book is an attempt to set forth the imjDor- 
tant facts about the soil in a plain and untechnical 
manner. It is not a contribution to agricultural 
science, but an interpretation of it — a new presen- 
tation of what is already known. 

S. W. Fletcher. 
Agricultural College, Michigan, 
October 30, 1906. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter I. SOIL BUILDERS 

The weathering of rocks .... 

Mountains and stones becoming smaller 

Soils being changed into rock 

Changes in temperature crack rocks 
Plants as soil builders 

The work of lichens and mosses 

Soils built mostly by plants 

Stems and roots split rocks 

Plants as soil binders 
How ice has made soil 
Animals as soil builders . . . . . 

The remains of all animals are returned to the soil 

The service of ants, moles, gophers, beavers, etc. 

How angleworms improve soil 
The action of moving water . . . . . 

In wearing away a soil and carrying it elsewhere 

The origin of alluvial soils 

In dissolving rocks ..... 
Soils built wholly or partly by the wind 
The soil teems with life ..... 



PAGB 

3 

3 

5 

5 

7 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

17 

18 

20 



Chapter II. THE NATURE OF SOILS 



The fineness of the soil .... 

All soils are becoming finer 

The number of particles in difiFerent soils 

Fineness is richness 
The weight of soils ..... 
The mineral contents of the soil 

The rocks from which soil is made 

Elements, compounds and plant food . 
The water in the soil .... 

Free or ground water 

Film water ..... 

Water absorbed from the air 



23 
23 
23 
25 
26 
26 
27 
28 
29 
29 
30 
31 



Xll 



CONTENTS 



The temperature of the soil .... 
How warm the soil must be for yarious crops 
The comparative temperature of different soils 
Drainage promotes warmth 
Influence of the exposure on the warmth of soils 
Dark colored soils absorb more heat 
The influence of tillage on soil temperature 

The ventilation of the soil .... 

The necessity for air in the soil 
Methods of improving the ventilation of soil 

Electricity in the soil .... 

Germ life in the soil ..... 

The beneficial work of nitrogen-fixing germs 
Conditions essential to the life of these germs 
Germs that waste nitrogen 
A multitude of other soil bacteria 

Chemical changes in the soil .... 



PAGE 

31 
31 
32 
33 
34 
34 
36 
37 
37 
37 
39 
40 
40 
42 
42 
43 
44 



Chapter III. THE KINDS OF SOILS AND HOW TO 
MANAGE THEM 



Sedentary sou 

Transported soils 
Alluvial soils 
Drift soils 
Wind-built soils 

The composition of soils 
The basis of separation 
The characteristics of sand 
The characteristics of clay 
The characteristics of silt . 
The characteristics of humus 

The leading types of farm soils 

Sandy soils 

Sandy loams . 

Clay soils 

Clay loams 

Loams 

Gravelly and stony loams 

Peat and muck 

Loess soils 

Adobe soils 

Salt marsh soils 



46 
47 
47 
48 
50 
51 
51 
51 
52 
52 
53 
63 
54 
55 
56 
58 
59 
59 
60 
62 
63 
64 



CONTENTS 



Xlll 



The problem of alkali soils 

What causes alkali 

The effect of alkali 

Treatment for alkali 
The subsoil 

What it is 

Its fertility 

Different types 
Analysing the soil at home 

Weighing the humus 

Separating the sand, silt, and clay 



65 
65 
66 
67 
69 
69 
70 
70 
71 
72 
73 



Chapter IV. SOIL WATER 

The amount of water needed by plants 

How plants drink ..... 

Rainfall insufficient or unevenly distributed 

The capacity of different soils to hold water 

Influence of the subsoil on water-holding capacity 
Height of the water table .... 

How to increase the water-holding capacity of soils 
The influence of forests upon the water supp'- . 

The loss of soil water by seepage 

The extent of the loss ..... 

Plant food lost in seepage water . 
How to prevent loss by seepage 

The movement of film water 

How film water creeps from grain to grain 
Capillary action ..... 

How to prevent the loss of film water by evaporation 
The function of a mulch .... 
The soil mulch ..... 

The water-moving ability of different soils 

How to test the water-holding capacity of soils 
How to test the water-moving ability of soils 

Chapter V. THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 



76 
77 
78 
80 
82 
82 
83 
84 
84 
85 
85 
87 
87 
87 
89 
90 
91 
91 
92 
93 
95 



The present emphasis on good tillage 

Tillage to prepare the seed bed 

The competition between plants in the wild 
Culture an improvement on nature 
The reward of thoroughness 



97 
98 
98 
99 
100 



xiv CONTENTS 










PAGB 

TUlage to kill weeds 101 


What a weed is ... 








101 


The tirade against weeds 








101 


Friendly words for weeds . 








102 


A spur to the sluggard 








103 


Tillage to save water 








104 


The amount lost by evaporation 








104 


The efficiency of the soil mulch 








104 


Increasing the water-holding capacity of soils 






105 


Dry farming ..... 






105 


Its growing importance in the West 






106 


Conditions under which it is necessary 






106 


Methods of handling the soil 






107 


Crops under dry farming . 






108 


Caution necessary .... 






109 


Tillage to promote fertility 






110 


Nature's method of promoting fertility 






. 110 


How tillage increases fertility 






110 


Tillage the poor man's manure 






111 


The alchemy that follows the plow 








112 



Chapter VI. THE OBJECTS AND METHODS OF 
PLOWING 



The evolution of the plow 

Primitive plows 

Early American plows 

The modern plow 
The objects of plowing 

To destroy wild plants and bury herbage 

To pulverise the soil 

To prepare the seed bed 

To promote fertility 

To deepen the soil reservoir 

To drain the soil 

To establish a mulch 
The depth to plow is influenced by: 

The nature of the soil 

The time of year 

The nature of the subsoil 

The value of deep-plowing and sub-soiling 



CONTENTS 



XV 



The draft and power in plowing .... 


PAGB 

127 


Heavy teams do better work 




128 


Horse, mule, and ox power 




129 


The power for plowing 




129 


Steam and electric power 




129 


Greater power needed 




130 


Essentials of a good plow 






131 


The beam 






131 


The mouldboard 






131 


The coulter 






132 


The jointer 






132 


The beam-wheel 






133 


The share 






133 


The clevis 






133 


When to plow 






134 


The benefits of and the occasions for fail plowing 


134 


The critical time for spring plowing 


135 


When plowing is dispensed with 


136 


The usefulness of the different kinds of plows 


137 


The landside plow ...... 


137 


The swivel plow 




137 


The sulky plow 




138 


The gang plow 




138 


The disk plow 




139 


Adjusting the plow in the field 




140 


Chapter VII. HARROWING AND CULTIVATIN 


G 


The tillage of preparation ..... 


142 


The objects of harrowing ..... 


142 


Better harrowing needed ...... 


143 


The kinds of harrows and the influences of each 


144 


Each kind best for specific purpose 


144 


The spike-tooth harrow ..... 


145 


The spring-tooth harrow ..... 


147 


The Acme harrow ...... 


148 


Rolling harrows — disk, cutaway, and spading 


149 


When the soil is ready to harrow .... 


151 


The kinds of cultivators and the usefulness of each 


152 


The difference between a harrow and a cultivator 


152 


Shovel-tooth or coulter cultivator 


153 


Spike-tooth cultivator ..... 


153 


Spring-tooth cultivators ..... 


154 


Sulky cultivators ...... 


155 


Weeders 




• • 


156 



XVI 



CONTENTS 



Cultivating to kill weeds 

Weeds steal plant food 

Weeds steal water .... 
The best time to kill weeds 

When weeds get a start 

Weed collection .... 

The prevalence of weeds in sown crops 
Cultivation to save water 

Sometimes needed when tliere are no weeds 

Signs of the need of cultivation 

How often to cultivate for making a mulch 
How deep to cultivate .... 
The advantages of level culture 
Preventing the loss of soil water from sod land 



PAG3 

157 
157 
158 
159 
160 
162 
163 
163 
164 
164 
165 
166 
168 
170 



Chapter VIH. ROLLING, PLANKING AND HOEING 



Rolling to assist germination by supplying more moisture 

How accomplished 

When practicable 

Making a mulch after rolling 

Other illustrations of the principle of rolling 
Other benefits of rolling 

To crush lumps 

To warm the soil 

Incidental benefits 
The kinds of rollers 
Planking 

The construction of a planker 

When to use it and what it does 
Hoeing .... 

Of less importance than formerly 

Hoeing to make a mulch 

Hoeing to kill weeds 

Good and poor hoeing 

Different styles of blades 
Miscellaneous hand tools . 

Their decreasing importance 

Hand cultivators 

Scuffle hoes 
Selecting farm tools 

Too many tools means tied-up capital 

A variety necessary . 



171 

172 
172 
173 
174 
175 
175 
176 
176 
177 
178 
178 
178 
179 
179 
180 
180 
181 
182 
183 
183 
184 
184 
185 
186 
186 



CONTENTS 



xvii 



Chapter IX. THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 



Drainage mainly a problem east of the Mississippi 
When drainage is needed 

To dry out a wet soil 

To deepen a shallow soil 

To improve texture 
Many soils are well drained naturally 
When it will pay to drain land 
How drainage affects the soil 

It makes the soil warmer 

It ventilates the soil 

Draining a soil makes it more moist 

Practical results from draining land 
What kind of drains to use 

Surface drains 

Underdrains 

When ditches are practicable 
How to dig a drainage ditch 

The grade 

The distance apart 
Surface drainage by plowing into lands 
The action of underdrains 
Planning a system of underdrains 

The necessity for a plan 
The outlet .... 
The grade .... 
Simple devices for establishing the grade 
The number and direction of the drains 
Distance between drains 
The depth to lay the drains 
The kinds of tiles 
The size of tiles 
Digging the ditch 
Placing the tiles 
Filling the ditch 
Obstructions in tile drains 
The cost of putting in tile drains 
Other kinds of underdrains 
Draining pot holes 
Draining large swamps and marshes 

The large area of reclaimable swamp and marsh land 



PAGE 

189 

190 

191 

192 

192 

194 

195 

196 

196 

197 

197 

199 

200 

200 

200 

201 

202 

203 

204 

204 

205 

207 

207 

209 

210 

212 

216 

218 

219 

221 

222 

224 

225 

226 

227 

228 

229 

230 

231 

231 



XVlll 



CONTENTS 



Chapter X. FARM IRRIGATION 



The present extent of irrigation 


PAGE 

. 233 


In foreign countries 


. 233 


In the United States 


. 233 


The area in the United States that can be irr 


igated . . 234 


The objects of irrigation 


. 236 


To remedy a deficiency in rainfall 


. 236 


To enrich the land . . . . 


. 237 


To correct alkali and improve texture 


. 237 


How far the natural water supply will go dep 


ends upon . 237 


The minimum amount of rainfall needec 


i* . . . 238 


The season when it falls 


. 238 


The retentiveness of the soil 


. 238 


Irrigation in humid regions 


. 239 


Used to supplement deficiency in summ 


er rainfall . 239 


Under what conditions it will pay 


. 240 


Better tillage may obviate the necessity 


or irrigation . 241 


The supply of water for irrigation 


. 243 


From streams . . . . 


. 243 


From ponds and lakes 


. 243 


From springs and wells 


. 244 


Hydrant water 


. 244 


The construction of small earth reservoirs 


. 245 


Pumping water for irrigation 


. 246 


With windmills 


. 247 


With steam and gasoline engines 


. 248 


With water wheels 


. 249 


With hydraulic rams 


. 250 


The sluice gate .... 


. 250 


Building distributing ditches 


. 251 


The use of flumes and pipes 


. 252 


Cement-lined ditches 


. 252 


Methods of applying water 


. 253 


A local and personal problem 


. 253 


Check flooding 


. 254 


Wild flooding 


. 256 


Irrigation by furrows 


.257 


Sub-irrigation .... 


. 260 


Methods of measuring water 


. 262 


The divisor .... 


. . . 262 


The module .... 


263 


By apportionment 


. 263 


Units in measuring water . 


. 263 



CONTENTS 



XIX 



PAGE 

The duty of water 264 


The character of the soil . 




. 265 


The kind of crop 






. 265 


The amount of rainfall 






. 266 


The frequency and time of irrigation 






. 267 


Indications in the soil and crop 






. 268 


The folly of over-irrigation 






. 268 


The time of day to irrigate 






. 269 


Directing the flow 






. 269 


Tillage after irrigation 






. 270 


Methods of irrigating important crops 






. 271 


Meadows .... 






. 271 


Fruits ..... 






. 271 


Potatoes .... 






. 273 


Garden vegetables 






. 274 


The cost of irrigation 






. 274 


National aid in irrigation 






. 275 


The Reformation Act of 1902 . 






. 276 


Windbreaks 






. 278 



Chapter XI. MAINTAINING THE FERTILITY OF 
THE SOIL 



What fertility is . . . 








280 


Many views .... 








281 


The native richness of soils 








281 


The soil a storehouse of plant food . 








282 


Plant food locked up 








282 


Soils exhausted of plant food 








283 


The loss of fertility by erosion . 








284 


An insidious leak 








286 


Erosion in the South 








287 


Methods of checking erosion 








287 


Preserve forests and wooded strips 








288 


Re-forestation .... 








288 


Directing water. 








289 


Terracing .... 








291 


Side-hill ditches 








291 


Soil-binding crops 








291 


Breaks ..... 








292 


Deep-plowing and humus . 








294 


Tillage operations 








295 



XX 



CONTENTS 



The relation of fallowing to soil fertility 

An ancient practice . 

Fallowing to store water 

Fallowing to set free plant food 

Fallowing to destroy weeds 

The methods of fallowing . 
Rotation of crops 

Nature's rotations 
Why a rotation is beneficial 

It affects the relative supply of plant, foods 

The different rooting habits of crops . 

Rotations and weediness 

Injurious insects and diseases lessened 

Keep the soil busy 

Economy of labour 
Choosing crops for a rotation 
Typical systems of rotations 
Single-crop farming 
Selling fertility 

A bank account with the soil of farming 

Loss of plant food in different systems 
Advantages of diversified farming 
Keeping live-stock to maintain fertility 
The excretory theory of soil fertility . 



PAG2 

296 
296 
297 
297 
298 
298 
299 
300 
300 
301 
301 
302 
303 
304 
304 
305 
307 
310 
311 
312 
312 
315 
316 
318 



Chapter XII. GREEN-MANURING AND 
WORN-OUT SOILS 



What is meant by "good texture" 
How Nature secures good texture 
How humus benefits the soil 

By improving its texture 

By increasing its power to hold water . 

By enriching it . 
The kinds of green-manures 

Leguminous ..... 

Non-leguminous .... 

When a green-manuring crop may be grown 

In a rotation ..... 

Catch crops and cover crops 
The fertilising value of roots and stubble . 
Green-manures not complete fertilisers 



323 
327 
327 
328 
828 
329 
329 
330 
330 
331 
331 
332 
332 



CONTENTS 



XXI 



Inoculating the soil 
With old soil 
With artificial cultures 
Each crop has different bacteria 
Plowing under a green-manure . 
Leguminous crops for green-manuring 
Non-leguminous crops for green manuring 
The renovation of worn-out soils 

How soils have become worn out 
How to build up worn-out soils . 



Chapter XIII. FARM MANURES 

Manuring the oldest means of maintaining fertility 
How manure benefits the soil 

Its value as plant food. 

The chemist's valuations not the farmer's 

Its influence on soil texture 

Bacteria in manure .... 
Comparative plant-food value of different manures 
The quality of manure. .... 
How manure is wasted .... 

Throwing it away .... 

Loss from leaching .... 

Loss from fermentation 

Loss in liquid portions 
How to care for manure .... 

Covered barn-yards .... 

Manure pits, sheds and cellars 

Preventing fermentation 

The use of bedding .... 

Mineral absorbents .... 
The amount of manure made on the farm 
When to apply manure .... 
How much to use ..... 
How to apply ...... 



Chapter XIV. COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 



PAGE 

333 
334 
334 
335 
337 
338 
341 
342 
343 
344 



346 
346 
347 
347 
347 
348 
349 
350 
351 
351 
352 
353 
354 
354 
355 
355 
356 
357 
357 
358 
360 
361 
363 



Rapid growth of fertiliser trade . 
What commercial fertilisers are made of 
State supervision of the fertiliser trade 



364 
366 
367 



XXll 



CONTENTS 



Studying fertiliser tags 

Some guarantees misleading 

Repetitions in guarantees . 
The forms of phosphoric acid . 
Calculating the value of a fertiliser 
Low-grade fertiliser expensive . 
The advantages of home mixing 
Sources of nitrogen 
Sources of phosphoric acid 

Bone fertiliser . 

Rock phosphates 

Phosphate slag . 

Superphosphates 
Sources of potash 
Mixing the raw materials 
What kinds of fertiliser to use 

Soil analyses as a guide to fertilising 

Questioning the soil . 

The needs of different crops 
The relative importance of the three plant 
When to apply fertilisers . 

The solubility of the fertiliser 

The needs of the crop 
How to apply fertilisers . 
When it will pay to use fertilisers 

Indirect fertilisers 
The benefits of liming 

Lime a plant food 

Improves texture 

Unlocks potash 

Sweetens sour soils 
The soils that need liming 
Tests for sour soils . 
Land plaster, marl and other amendments 



foods 



PAGE 

368 
368 
369 
370 
373 
375 
376 
377 
379 
379 
381 
381 
382 
384 
386 
388 
389 
390 
392 
394 
395 
395 
396 
396 
398 
399 
399 
399 
399 
400 
400 
400 
401 
402 



APPENDIX 



I. Crop rotations in the diflFerent states. 
II. Analyses of soils . . . . 

III. Native plant food in farm soils. 



405 
417 

419 



CONTENTS 



XXlll 



IV. Plant food drawn from the soil by average yields of 

crops ........ 420 



V. Analyses of commercial fertilising materials 

VI. Analyses of farm manures 

VII. Fertilising materials in farm products 

VIII. Schedule for the valuation of fertilisers 



421 

422 
423 
426 



INDEX 



427 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

/ 

"The Farmer" L. H. Bailey Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

1. Taughannock Falls, Ithaca, N. Y 4 ' 

2. Soil and Stones Brought Down by a Stream .... 4 

3. Rock Split by the Growth of a Tree which Happened 

to Find Lodgment in a Crevice 5 

4. Ledge Being Torn Apart by the Growth of Tree Roots 

in the Crevices 5 

5. Erosion of a Mountain in Montana 6 - 

6. Niagara Falls, Canadian Side 6 

7. The Beginning of a Soil 6,000 Feet High, on Grand- 

father Mountain, North Carolina 7 

8. Mosses and Other Humble Plants on Ledges ... 7 

9. A Pond Filling Up, Plants Encroach Upon It More Every 

Year Until Finally It is Completely Filled .... 10 

10. A Pond Completely" Filled by Plants 10 

11. The Humble Beginnings of a Soil 11 

12. The Great Usefulness of Plants as Soil Builders ... 11 

13. Mangrove Swamp in Florida 12 

14. Cocoanut Trees on the Coast of Florida 12 

15. Castings of Earthworms on Surface 13 

16. Ant-hill 13 

17. Pieces of Rock Split Off by Frost 13 

18. Lichens on Rock 13 

19. How Water Moves Through the Soil 18 

20. The Difference Between Surface Soil and Subsoil 19 

21. How Plants Eat 19 

22. A Sedentary Soil of North Georgia 20 

23. A Transported Soil — The "Palouse Country" of Oregon 

and Washington 20 

24. An Alluvial or Water-made Soil — The Moccasin Bend of 

the Tennessee River, From Lookout Mountain, Near 

Chattanooga, Tenn 21 

25. A Small Brook Doing Exactly the Same Work as the 

River Above 21 

XXV 



xxvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

26. Sand Dunes Near Lake Michigan — A Wind-formed Soil 

that is Valueless 28 

27. The Everglades of Florida — A Soil Built Largely by the 

Decay of Plants 28 

28. A Unique "Soil" 29 

29. The "Particles" of the Above Soil 29 

30. The Three Chief Ingredients of Soils: Humus or De- 

caying Vegetation, Clay, and Sand 30 

31. A Clay Soil Cracking . . ■ 30 

32. How Film Water is Prevented from Evaporating by a 

Soil Mulch 31 

33. Corn Leaves Curling in a Drought 31 

34. Tilling the Soil— The Most Common, and the Most Im- 

portant Operation on the Farm 102 

35. Potatoes in Dire Need of Tillage 103 

36. Potatoes Luxuriating Under a Mulch of Loose, Dry 

Soil 103 

37. Water Held by a Coarse and by a Fine Soil .... 106 

38. A Lumpy Soil 106 

39. A Perfect Soil Mulch 107 

40. Where Troublesome Weeds are Wont to Congregate and 

to Multiply 107 

41. Plowing the Corn Field .116 

42. Flat-furrow Plowing — The Slice Completely Inverted . 117 

43. Clay Soil Plowed When Too Wet 117 

44. Ideal Plowing 124 

45. An Ideal Plow for Ordinary Work 125 

46. A Cheap and Rather Ineffective Wooden-beam Plow 125 

47. Shiftless Plowing in North Florida 128 

48. Turning Under Thick Herbage with the Aid of a Chain 128 

49. The Appearance of Land After Fall Plowing 129 

50. The Appearance of the Same Land the Following Spring 129 

51. The Work of the Acme Harrow 144 

52. A Home-made Spike-tooth Harrow, in Two Sections . 145 

53. A Sulky Harrow 145 

54. A Spring-tooth Harrow 146 

55. The Work of a Spring-tooth Harrow 146 

56. "Sweeps" Attached to a Plow-stock, for "Laying By" 

Corn 147 

57. The Effect of Using the Above Tool for Cultivating a 

Cotton Field 147 

58. The Most Common Type of Deep-working Coulter-tooth 

Cultivator 158 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxvii 

FACING PAGE 

59. Young Corn in Need of a Cultivation 158 

60. A Cultivator that is Really a Plow 159 

61. Cultivating at a Disadvantage 159 

62. Rolling Wheat Seeding in a Dry September .... 182 

63. A Cloddy Soil that would be Benefited by Rolling . . 183 

64. A Four-section Iron Roller Weighted 183 

65. A Three-section Iron Roller 186 • 

66. A Home-made, Three-section Wooden Roller . . 186 

67. A Serviceable Home-made Flanker or "Float" . 187 

68. Corn "Drowned Out" 198- 

69. Meadow on which Less Water Has Been Standing . 198 

70. A Soil Well-drained Naturally by a Gravelly Subsoil 199 

71. Surface Drainage by " Plowing into Lands " .... 199 

72. Draining Wet Lands with an Open Ditch 202 

73. An Open Ditch with Grassed Sides on an Easy Slope, so 

They do not Wash 202 

74. Laying a Tile Drain 203 

75. A Tile that Has Been Clogged by Tree Roots ... 203 

76. The Plow may be Used to Facilitate the Removal of 

Surface Soil for Drains 228 

77. Outlet of a Tile Drain Clogged by Soil so that the Drain 

Does not Work. 228 

78. A Typical Eastern Swamp that can Easily be made 

into Farming Land 229 

79. Map of the Mean Annual Rainfall in Different Parts of 

the United States (After Newell) 236 

80. Irrigating Olives, Fresno, California, by Check System . 237 

81. The Intake of the Sunnyside Canal, Yakima Valley, 

Washington 237 

82. Irrigating a Garden from a Hydrant in a Semi-arid 

Region (Pullman, Wash.) 274 

83. Irrigating Strawberries by Pumping from Cache Creek, 

California. 274 

84. Irrigating Alfalfa by Furrow System, Yakima Valley, 

Washington 275 

85. A Barnyard in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia . 286 
88. The Ohio River Flooding its Meadows 287 

87. Pasturing with Cattle 287 

88. Sheep at Pasture 287 

89. Harrowing the Summer Fallow 320 

90. Hay that Will Soon be Baled and Shipped to the City . 321 

91. Clover Following Wheat — One of the Commonest Ro- 

tations in this Country 321 



xxviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGB 

92. Loss of Fertility by Erosion 324 

93. A Georgia Field that Once Produced a Bale of Cotton 

per Acre, now Ruined Beyond Redemption by Gully- 
ing 324 

94. Richness Running off in the Bottom of the Deep Furrow 

Made by Ridging this Cotton 325 

95. A "Break" of Corn Stalks Used to Check Gullying . 325 

96. A Fifteen Years' Growth of Long-leaf and Jersey Scrub 

Pines on a Southern Hillside Farm 332 

97. A Hillside that GulUed Badly Until Covered with Ber- 

muda Grass and Lespedeza 333 

98. The Dense Turf of Bermuda Grass 333 

99. Soil in Poor Texture 336 

100. Clod of Clay Soil; Decaying Stems and Leaves, which 

Become Humus 336 

101. Nodules, or Tubercles, on the Roots of Soy Bean . . 337 

102. Cowpeas on "Worn Out" Cotton Field 337 

103. A Field of Cowpeas Grown to Improve the Soil . . 340 

104. A Single Cowpea Vine, Twelve Feet Long, on a North 

Georgia Farm 340 

105. Velvet Beans Grown for a Green Manure in Florida . 341 

106. The Right Place for a Cover Crop — To Protect the Bare 

Ground of the Corn Field Over Winter . . .341 

107. A Common, and an Extremely Wasteful Method of 

Storing Farm Manures 348 

108. The Essence of the Manure 348 

109. Pond Covered with "Duck Meat" through Manure 

Draining into it 349 

110. Manure Wagon 349 

111. Manure Pile in the Field, to be Spread Later . . . 362 

112. Spreading Manure from the Wagon on Corn Stubble . 362 

113. Buying in Sacks 363 

114. A Fertiliser Tag Taken from a Sack, Showing the 

Guaranteed Analysis of the Fertiliser 363 



SOILS 

HOW TO HANDLE AND IMPROVE THEM 



Chapter i 

SOIL BUILDERS 

MANY people who till the soil, either as a 
business or as a recreation, look upon it 
merely as dirt — cold, inert, lifeless, change- 
less. I have met farmers in New England who took 
it for granted that the land they till to-day is about 
the same as it was two hundred years ago, when 
their forefathers cleared it, except for being less fer- 
tile. They had not noticed, or at least had not 
interpreted, the soil-building and soil-changing 
agencies at work all about them — wearing away the 
uplands, enriching the meadows, reducing the rocks, 
filling the swamps ; changing from year to year the 
contour of their farms and their agricultural value. 

THE WEATHERING OF ROCKS 

Every farm soil is a complex material and has 
an interesting history. Most soils are a mixture 
of ground rock, decayed plants and the remains of 
insects and animals. Some soils, as the sands, are 
almost entirely particles of rocks; others, as peat 
and muck land, are made almost entirely of de- 
cayed plants. Neither of these extremes makes a 
a good farm soil, as a rule. The majority of the 
soils in which plants are cultivated are made mostly 
of ground rock, with the addition of a greater or 
less amount of decayed plants. 

Rock has been, and is still being, ground by 
weathering — the action of air, rain, snow, frost, 

3 



4 SOILS 

heat and ice. Ever since the surface of the earth 
cooled, making a crust of rock, these agencies have 
been constantly at work, breaking up this crust, 
wearing away fragments of rock and carrying 
them to lower levels. They are Nature's plows. 
All mountains and hills are slowly wearing away. 
We can no longer regard them as "firm and ever- 
lasting." "Whole mountain chains of geologic 
yesterday have disappeared from view," says 
Merrill, "and we read their history only in their 
ruins." The Appalachian Mountains have al- 
ready lost by weathering and erosion as much 
material as now remains. Even within the mem- 
ory of one man, a hill may become noticeably 
lower. 

The whole earth is being levelled — very slowly, 
yet quite perceptibly. The face of every rock is 
roughened and chipped by the elements. Drops 
of rain wear away particles of it; water freezes m 
the crevices, expands, and chips off fragments. 
The air searches these crevices and corrodes them, 
as it does iron. Everywhere cliffs are lower, rocks 
are smaller and soils are finer than they used to be. 
The big rock that the farmer has plowed around 
for thirty years is smaller now than it was when he 
first "rode horse" for his father. The stones on 
the gravelly knoll pass between the cultivator teeth 
easier than they used to. All about us, in the wild 
and on the farm, are indisputable evidences that 
soil is being made by the weathering of rocks. 
Most farm soils are still incomplete — they contain 
rocks and stones that are slowly being made into 
soil. A few, as the clays and alluvial soils, are 
changing less; but even the finest clay soil is af- 
fected by weathering to some extent. The reducing 
and fining process is universal and ceaseless. 




1. TAUGHANXOCK FALLS, ITHACA. X. V. 
How nianv centuries has it taken this stream to wear the deep gap in the cliff ? 




2. SOIL AXD STONES BROUGHT DOWN BY STREAM 

Much of it was worn away from rocks and clifTs like the above. Some day it v/ill 
be used for farming 




3. Ru'CK ci'LIT BY THE uKi U 111 li A TREE, WHICH HAPPENED TO 

FIND LODGMENT IN A CREVICE 

" Half-way stone," Lansing. Michigan 




4. LEDGE BEING TORN APART BY THE GROWTH OF TREE 

ROOTS IN THE CREMCES 

Plants aid in soil building by the pressure of growth of stem or root 



SOIL BUILDERS 5 

An interesting example of soil formation by 
weathering is the heaving of stones to the surface, 
especially in the clay soils of northern states. A 
vivid recollection of my boyhood is the thankless 
task of picking up stones from rocky New England 
fields. This had to be done every fall and every 
spring. Though we might pick up and cart off 
in the fall every stone to be seen, there would always 
.be many on top of the ground by the time 
for spring plowing. 

These stones were heaved up. The clay soil 
in which they were embedded became wet, froze 
and expanded, throwing the stones upon the sur- 
face, there being the least resistance in that di- 
rection. So many of our small fields of a few acres 
had immense piles of stones in each of the four 
corners, the accumulation of many years. When 
these stones are not picked up they lie upon the 
surface and are slowly reduced to soil. 

Soil Becoming Rock. — The reverse process, of 
changing soil into rocks, is also takmg place. 
Many of the common rocks and stones that we 
may pick up in our fields were once soil. Sand- 
stone, which is now sought for trimming buildings, 
is sand that has been hardened into stone. "Pud- 
ding" stones, or conglomerates, are made of 
gravel. Sometimes these rocks may be broken up, 
by weathering or erosion, and the soil in them 
again become available for plant growth. Thus 
the materials of the earth's surface may be worked 
over and over during countless cycles of time. The 
soil that nourishes plants to-day may be the build- 
ing stones of a future generation. The soil of every 
farm has an antiquity of no ordinary character. 

Extreme Changes in Temperature Crack Rocks. — 
Weathering from changes in temperature is as 



6 SOILS 

effective, though often not as noticeable, as weather- 
ing from other causes. The changes of temperature 
from summer to winter, and even from the heat of 
mid-day to evening, are sufficient to tear rocks to 
pieces. Rocks are made of several or many dif- 
ferent minerals, each of which expands and con- 
tracts differently when subjected to heat or cold. 
The result is that the rocks are cracked and split 
from being pulled many ways. There are few 
parts of the world where surface temperatures are 
uniform for any length of time; hence nearly all 
surface rocks, even the smallest stones, and espe- 
cially those in the North, are being slowly pushed 
and pulled to pieces by alternate expansion and 
contraction. According to Shaler, a change of 
temperature of 150° F., which is common in the 
North between the extremes of summer and winter, 
makes a granite rock 100 feet in diameter expand 
one inch. 

In regions having great extremes of temperature 
daily, particularly in Texas, Montana, Arizona, 
and other parts of the West where rocks are sparsely 
protected by vegetation, the splitting of rocks is 
quite noticeable and is sometimes attended with 
gun-like reports and cracking sounds loud enough 
to be heard many rods. Livingstone states that 
in South Africa blocks of stone weighing 200 pounds 
are frequently split off during the night by the con- 
traction due to the rapid fall of temperature. 
Many people have noticed how pieces are 
chipped off from the foundation stones of a 
building that has burned. In most parts of eastern 
United States, where the rocks are more or less 
protected by vegetation, the cracking of rocks from 
this cause is less noticeable; but it is certain that 
all rocks everywhere are being affected more or 



5. EROSION OF A MOUNTAIN IX MONTANA 

The soil made on the mountain by weathering has been mostly washed away to make 
the fertile valley below 




6. NIAGARA FALLS, CANADIAN SIDE 

The Falls are mo\-inR backward towards Lake Erie at the rate of 4 feet a year. The rork par- 
ticles worn away by the cataract are deposited as soil many miles down stream 




THE BEGINNING OF A SOIL 6.000 FEET HIGH, ON GRANDFATHER 
MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA 
The mountains are being worn away and deposited in the valleys as soil 




MOSSES AND OTHER HUMBLE PLANTS ON LEDGE 

They will help prepare the way for the growth of higher plants 



SOIL BUILDERS 7 

less. The simile — "immovable as a rock," is 
not perfect. Even the rock, our common symbol 
of stability, is subject to the universal law of change; 
it is broken down, re-created and broken down 
again, over and over, while it fills its place in the 
working out of the Great Design. 

PLANTS AS SOIL BUILDERS 

Broken rock alone, however, does not make a 
fertile soil, as the farmer defines fertility. There 
are plants that thrive on bare rock, but the plants 
that are grown as farm crops are of a higher order 
and cannot rough it like this. A fertile soil — one 
that will grow large crops of the higher plants, 
either wild or cultivated — must contain a con- 
siderable amount of humus, which is chiefly de- 
cayed vegetation. A soil made of rock alone may 
contain all the mineral plant food that farm crops 
need, but it is apt to lack nitrogen and has not the 
right texture. 

The Evolution of a Soil. — Nothing in nature is 
more interesting than the gradual evolution of a 
fertile soil from a barren rock, and nothing is more 
significant of the illimitable wisdom of the Creator. 
The history of soil building reads something like 
this: In the beginning is a lofty cliff, mute witness 
of the eruptions and disturbances through which 
the earth passed in cooling. It is bare and deso- 
late. No living thing finds nourishment upon it. 
For centuries the storms beat against it; ice, rain 
and sudden changes in temperature pry off great 
boulders, which crash into the valleys. In the 
course of time there come to be upon these boulders, 
and upon the rocks and stones split off from them, 
lichens and other humble plants that are able to 



8 SOILS 

send their minute root structures into the crevices 
and Hve upon the sHght substances that are formed 
on the surface by weathering, together with what 
they can get from the air. These hchens are very 
acid and are able to etch the rocks. They die and 
decay, leaving the beginning of a fertile soil in the 
crevices and upon the ledges. The growth of 
higher plants is thus made- possible; perhaps the 
mosses gain a foothold. These in turn elaborate 
more of the rock for their own use and in turn die, 
enriching the soil with themselves. Now there is 
a pocket of soil upon the ledge which may be able 
to support such humble plants as ferns or saxifrage. 
Thus the process goes on from decade to decade 
and from century to century, the lower plants being 
succeeded by larger and more highly organised 
plants, as the rocks are made finer by weathering 
and are enriched by the decay of the plants that they 
nourish. Finally the soil can support mulleins, 
honeysuckles, or fir trees. Many years later it 
may be able to support a crop of corn, timothy, 
or apples. A fertile farm soil is the product 
of many agencies working through thousands of 
years. 

How Plants are Making Soil To-day. — Plants are 
helping to make fertile soil to-day as they have for 
centuries. Each year the forest floor receives a 
fresh carpet of leaves, and the older generations of 
trees fall to the ground and slowly pass into mold. 
Each year the grass in the meadows and the weeds 
by the roadside add their substance to the soil from 
which they have sprung, thereby enabling it to 
nurture other and lustier plants in succeeding 
years. Lichens spread their thin substance over 
rocks, and mosses take up the battle where the 
lichens leave off, just as of old. 



SOIL BUILDERS 9 

Swamp lands and meadows are the most con- 
spicuous examples of soils built mostly of plants. 
Lakes, ponds, streams and swamps are being 
filled in, not only with soil washed from surround- 
ing higher land, but also with plants. The little 
pond that I skated upon as a boy is reduced to a 
mere mudhole now; the lilies, sedges, reeds, cat- 
tails and other aquatic and semi-aquatic plants 
have encroached upon it from the edges year by 
year, until now hay is cut where I used to catch 
bullheads. Most of the rich valleys and meadows 
of northern United States were once water-courses 
or glacial lakes. The weedy water's edge of to- 
day may be a sphagnum bog a century hence and a 
cabbage field in another hundred years. The 
mangrove swamp of this century, reaching trunk- 
like roots into the sea, may be the tilled land of a 
future generation. 

Stems and Roots Split Rocks. — Plants also aid 
in soil building, to a considerable extent, by the 
pressure they exert upon rocks. The roots of 
trees often follow the crevices of rocks to a consider- 
able depth, and by the force of growth help to 
widen them. Even on top of the ground one may 
see many examples of rocks that have been rent by 
the growth of trees. Among greenhouse plants it 
is quite common to find pots that have been split 
apart by the growth of roots. But in many 
of the cases where rocks are split apart, and 
a tree is growing in the crevice, the rock was 
was first split open by weathering and the tree then 
widened the crevice. The acids secreted by the 
roots of plants dissolve a small portion of plant 
food from the rocks that the roots embrace. Rocks 
that have been etched by root acids may be found 
in almost any tree-covered ledge. In these various 



10 SOILS 

ways plants are contributing to the upbuilding of 
our agricultural soils. 

The peculiar . value of certain plants as soil 
binders must not be forgotten. One of the most 
efficient and certainly the most notorious of soil 
binders is "quack-grass," and its counterparts 
variously known as "Johnson-grass," "witch- 
grass," "couch-grass," and other aliases. The 
evil reputation of this grass is due to the fact that 
it is extremely difficult to kill, because the long 
underground stems may root at any point. The 
smaller the pieces into which the roots are chopped 
by the irate husbandman, the more widely and 
thoroughly is the pest scattered. This is just the 
reason why "quack" is such an excellent soil 
binder; the tough, white root -stalks thread the 
soil in every direction, soon making a network of 
fibres, which prevent light soils from washing 
badly. Steep banks or slopes are sometimes held 
by establishing quack grass upon them ; the under- 
ground stems are chopped into small pieces and 
these are sown thickly. Several other grasses, 
notably Bermuda grass, are particularly service- 
able in such cases. 

In some sections, notably in Oregon, Eastern 
Massachusetts and Western Michigan, drifting 
sands are held by planting them with sedges or 
"beachgrass." In Holland the dikes are planted 
with rushes to bind the soil. Willows and osiers 
planted on the banks of turbulent streams are 
effectual in preventing them from eating away their 
banks. Morning-glories and related plants are 
called bind-weeds, because the vines root at the 
joints and hold the soil tenaciously. A few horse- 
tails planted in a wet place soon make a dense mat 
of roots which grasp the soil so firmly that it cannot 




9. A POND FILLING UP 

Plants encroach upon it more every year until finally it is completely filled. 
Sometime this land may be used for farming 




10. A POND COMPLETELY FILLED BY PLANTS 

Ten years ago this was a sphagnum bog. The water-lo\-ing alders and viburnums around 
the edges will enlarge their area every year 




11. THE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS OF A SOIL 

Upon the pieces of rock chipped from the ledge several plants have gained a foothold. When 
they die their substance is added to the rocks and other plants thrive thereon 




12. THE GREAT I'SEEULNESS OF PLANTS AS SOIL BUILDERS 

Leaves, stems, roots — all parts of all plants — eventually return to the soil, adding to it 
and enriching it 



SOIL BUILDERS 11 

wash away. These are only a few examples of 
plants that are particularly valuable for this pur- 
pose. All plants are soil binders to some extent, 
as well as soil makers ; they not only enrich it with 
their herbage, but also hold it with their roots and, 
if they lie close to the ground, with their herbage 
also. In hilly sections some plants may be used 
to great advantage in checking erosion. This 
problem is discussed in Chapter XL 

HOW ICE HA.S MADE SOIL 

Once the northern part of North America was 
covered with a great sheet of ice, reaching as far 
south as Cape Cod, northern Pennsylvania, Ohio 
and westward to the Rockies. Geologists tell us 
that this immense glacier must have been several 
hundreds, and in some places several thousands of 
feet thick. It slowly bore down from the north, 
moving only a few inches to a few feet an hour, 
scraping the surface of the earth and carrying great 
quantities of rocks, stones and soil to the southward. 
According to some authorities certain parts of the 
glacier must have exerted a pressure of at least two 
hundred thousand pounds per square inch upon 
parts of the surface over which it passed. The 
bottom of the ice sheet became studded with huge 
boulders, which acted like teeth, tearing and grind- 
ing the rocks over which the ponderous mass 
passed. Some of these boulders, scratched and 
worn, may be still seen in the hillside pastures of 
New England and other parts of the glaciated 
region. Some exposed ledges of rock still show the 
deep grooves that were cut in them by these boulder 
teeth. 

When the ice melted a mass of soil material was 



12 SOILS 

dropped, perhaps many hundreds of miles away 
from the place where it was picked up. Rocks 
that could have come only from the mouth of Lake 
Huron are found in the drift or glacial soils in Ohio. 
Rocks from Ontario are found as far south as 
Kentucky. Great masses of ice were stranded 
here and there over the land. The streams of 
water resulting from the melting of the ice still 
further mixed the rocks, and the soils that the 
glacier had ground from the rocks. 

The result of this ice sheet is the endless variety 
of soils that are found in the North. Most of the 
soils of that part of the northern United States that 
was covered by the great glacier were made by this 
agency. They are technically known as "drift" 
soils. Where parts of the ice sheet settled and 
melted away there were formed "morains" or 
"drumlins," the long, rounded knolls so common 
in northeastern United States. Since the time 
when this ice sheet covered our land, moving water 
has still further shifted and mixed soils, rounded 
the knolls and deepened the gullies. But most of 
the great variety of soil and diversity of contour in 
this region is due to the scouring, crushing, mold- 
ing, transporting and distributing power of the 
great glacier. Small glaciers, performing exactly 
the same work, may be seen to-day in the Alps, 
Alaska, and other frigid regions. 

ANIMALS AS SOIL BUILDERS 

Animal life contributes much more to the build- 
ing of soils than seems possible at first thought. 
Eventually every animal and insect returns to the 
soil, from which it came. The addition of animal 
matter to the soil is not nearly so evident as the 




13. MANGROVE SWAMP IN FLORIDA 

The branches take root, causing the plant to spread so rapidly that large areas of salt 
marsh land are reclaimed from the sea. Some day this land will be cropped 




14. COCOANUT TREES ON THE COAST OF FLORIDA 
They hold the soil and carry it farther out into the sea 






i 


Hpj^^^ -Mi i^^l 


p 


ilM 




^ 


1 




1 


^ 


p 




B^^P 


^^^-^" 






1^ 


^i^^-^ 


tiM 




Wm 


^^'^ 


ipi 


« 


^ 


^^^ 





u ^- 

O 2 
w i. 
Z 
w 

w 

u 



E >, 

O rt 

^ E 




SOIL BUILDERS 13 

addition of vegetable matter from decaying plants ; 
yet, when we reflect upon it, the excrements and 
the remains of all creatures upon the earth must 
aggregate a considerable amount. 

Of no small importance also, are the burrows, 
channels, holes, etc., in which animals live or by 
which they feed. Ants, moles, gophers, wood- 
chucks, and the like are insignificant soil builders 
as individuals, but in the aggregate they have 
great influence. Ants are abundant on many of 
the lighter soils and often exercise a profound in- 
fluence on their structure and agricultural value. 
Shaler has calculated that ants bring to the surface 
of a four-acre field, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
enough sand and fine soil to cover the entire area 
one-fifth inch deep each year. This is probably a 
larger amount of material than ants move in most 
places, although those of us who have had to fight 
ants in lawns are quite willing to accept these 
figures; but they call our attention to the msidious 
and far-reaching influence that these tiny creatures 
may exert. Since the material brought to the 
surface by the smaller ants is mostly fine sand and 
smaller particles of soil, they being unable to move 
the larger particles, it is evident that the texture of 
the surface soil must be greatly modified by their 
industry. 

The mounds built by the large black and brown 
hill-building ants are often two feet in height and 
four feet in diameter. They are composed mostly 
of soil brought from below, mixed with bits of 
leaves and bark. They are being washed down 
constantly by rains and added to the surface soil. 
These ants usually build a new mound each year. 
Furthermore, the subterranean burrows and chan- 
nels of ants, penetrating as they do from several 



14 SOILS 

inches to many feet, have a pronounced effect upon 
the texture of the soil, and upon its aeration. 

The burying beetle, crayfish, woodchuck, chip- 
munk, mole, gopher, prairie dog, ground squirrel, 
badger, and other burrowing animals and insects, 
all contribute largely, in the aggregate, to the move- 
ment and aeration of soils, the latter four being 
especially abundant west of the Mississippi. Go- 
phers have honeycombed millions of acres, and 
prairie dogs and ground squirrels have been no 
less industrious. However injurious these animals 
may be otherwise, and however difficult may be 
the task of exterminating them so that crops can 
be grown, they certainly serve a useful purpose in 
mixing the subsoil with the surface soil and pro- 
moting better drainage and aeration. Thousands 
of acres of land in the United States have been 
submerged by the erection of beaver dams and 
their value for agricultural purposes has been pro- 
foundly influenced thereby. The beaver is no 
longer an important factor in soil building with us, 
but he has contributed very largely in the past. 

The Important Service of Angleworms. — The 
most important soil builder among animals is the 
angleworm or earthworm. Of these there are 
many kinds, from the big, snaky "night walker," 
that the fisherman with a torch finds crawling along 
the ground at night, to the tiny red ones beneath 
the pile of old manure. In South Africa some 
earthworms are two feet long. All of them are 
most industrious soil workers. After a rainy night, 
especially in early spring, the ground may be 
thickly strewn with their castings. On digging 
down in most moist soils a labyrinth of angleworm 
channels will be found. These burrows go more 
than five or six feet below the surface. 



SOIL BUILDERS 15 

Angleworms benefit farm soils in several ways. 
The channels that they make loosen, aerate and 
drain the soil to a considerable depth, far deeper 
than the subsoil plow works. The small roots and 
rootlets that reach deep into the subsoil usually 
follow the worm burrows, This is particularly 
true of tenacious soils, in which angleworms most 
frequently work. They are rarely numerous in 
very light, sandy soils because these do not contain 
a sufficient quantity of vegetable matter upon which 
they may feed. Again, the soil is fined by being 
passed through the worms. In making these 
channels the worm swallows the soil for the pur- 
pose of using as food the decaying vegetable matter 
it contains. As it passes out through the worm 
this soil is ground, as grain is ground in a chicken's 
gizzard. Charles Darwin estimated that the angle- 
worms in English soils passed through their bodies 
and ground over ten tons of soil per acre each year ; 
that is, they deposited about one-fifth of an inch 
of castings over the entire surface each year. This 
is the richest kind of top-dressing. He estimated 
that there are about 50,000 earth worms in each 
acre of English garden land, and about 25,000 in 
each acre of meadow land. Our American soils 
are as full of " bait worms" as the English soils, and 
their influence on our agriculture must be fully 
as pronounced as that assigned to them by the 
great scientist. 

THE ACTION OF MOVING WATER ON SOIL 

No soil is ever at rest. It is constantly receiving 
and constantly losing. The additions come mostly 
from the weathering of rocks and the decay of 
plants and animals. The losses are mostly due 



16 SOILS 

to the action of moving water. Moving water has 
been given the gigantic task of world leveUing, and 
is working at it industriously and successfully. 
The mountains, hills and knolls are worn away; 
water carries the particles down the valleys and 
deposits them as soil. Lakes and ponds are being 
filled with soil washed from higher land. The 
flat lands about the lakes and streams are made 
mostly of soil worn away from the surrounding 
highlands. The streams carry great quantities 
of soil and deposit it in the shallows and bends. 
The coarser and heavier materials, as gravel and 
sand, are deposited first and the finer material, as 
clay, is deposited only when the current becomes 
sluggish. At the mouths of streams, where the 
current is sluggish, a "delta" is often formed by 
the accumulation of soil carried down by the 
streams. It has been estimated that the amount of 
soil carried to the Gulf of Mexico every year by the 
Mississippi River would cover a square mile of 
territory 268 feet deep. At this rate, the American 
continent might be reduced to sea-level in four and 
one-half million years. This is but a small pro- 
portion, however, of the total amount of soil that 
these rivers carry, for most of it is left along 
their banks. According to reliable measurements, 
England is 550 square miles smaller now than at 
the time of the Norman Conquest, owing to the 
soft chalk and clay shores being crumbled away 
by waves. 

Every stream is constantly changing its course; 
many a valley farmer has had the river take away 
a large slice of his farm and give it to his neighbour 
down stream. Brooks states that within a genera- 
tion the Connecticut River has gradually taken 
several hundred acres of rich meadow land from 



SOIL BUILDERS 17 

the town of Hadley and bestowed it upon the town 
of Hatfield. Smaller streams, even the tiniest 
rills, are transporting and building soil in a similar 
manner. Sometimes this action of water is bene- 
ficial, but usually it is injurious. The loss of farm 
soil by erosion is discussed in Chapter XL 

Alluvial Soils. — The flat lands near streams are 
often flooded each year and receive a top-dressing 
of rich mud that keeps them extremely fertile. 
The Nile is a noted example, but many of our own 
rivers, including the Ohio and Mississippi, fertilise 
their meadows in the same way, much to the profit 
of man. The fertile plains of Egypt, once the 
"granary of the world," are not made of native 
soils, but of soil washed down from the mountains 
of Abyssinia, many hundreds of miles away. All the 
rich rice and cotton fields of southern Louisiana 
were built by the Mississippi River, of soil brought 
from the mountains three thousand miles away. In 
some places this soil is three hundred feet deep. 
These various kinds of alluvial or water-built soils 
are among the most valuable for agricultural 
purposes. In any hilly country one can ob- 
serve this kind of soil building going on at a 
rapid rate. 

Besides transporting soil from place to place, 
water also assists in soil building by wearing away 
the rock over which it passes. It would seem 
hardly possible that water should be capable of 
wearing away so rapidly the hardest of rocks, were it 
not that we can see the action going on all around us. 
Even a single drop, falling continuously year after 
year, will eat a deep hole in the hardest rock. 
When a volume of water is in motion, and especially 
when it is carrying along with it particles of soil, 
its grinding and filing effect is much more 



18 SOILS 

pronounced. The stones on the bottom of the brook 
at home are rounder and smaller now than when 
we first watched the tadpoles there. The spring 
that slaked our thirst twenty years ago has worn a 
deeper channel in the rock over which it flows. 
Each year the apex of the Horseshoe Falls of Niag- 
ara is four feet nearer Lake Erie. The Colo- 
rado River, which has already worn a channel half 
a mile deep in the solid rock of the Grand Canon, 
is cutting deeper every year. All water, even the 
purest spring water, has some minerals and gases 
dissolved in it, and these help it to dissolve the rock. 
Rain water contains small quantities of carbonic 
acid gas and other gases, which increase its power 
to dissolve rocks. 

SOILS BUILT WHOLLY OR PARTLY BY THE WIND 

Soils built wholly or in part by wind are not un- 
common. In arid regions, along the sea coast and 
near the shores of the Great Lakes, the drifting 
sands often cover and ruin valuable soils. Some 
of the most productive farm soils in this country 
were made, and are still being made, by wind. A 
noted example is the Palouse region of eastern 
Washington, eastern Oregon and northern Idaho. 
Here the land is a succession of rounded knolls and 
hills, which are sometimes several hundred feet 
high and are a rich, black, basaltic ash to the bot- 
tom. The native Indians account for the hills in 
a legend. They say that at one time all this region 
was a level prairie of marvellous fertility. Wonder- 
ful crops of maize were raised upon it by the red 
men. One evil day they heard that the white men 
were coming. Knowing by repute the white man's 
greed, the Indians went to work to gather the 




19. HOW WATER M()\KS I }{ki ir(,H I 111; SOIL 

It creeps from grain to grain by suction. The finer grained a soil is the higher it can pull up 

water by " capillary action." Compare the height to which the water in the pan has 

climbed in the clay soil on the left, with the coarse-grained sand on the right 



'-'-XiJ V 



'''^'' ■■^^w 







,5,^-: 






2(1. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SURFACE SOIL AND THE SUBSOIL 

The former is usually darker, having more humus, and usually ric^er. The subsoil, 
however, is potential plant food; it gradually becoii.cs su'"face soil 




21. HOW PLANTS EAT 

The fringe of delicate root hairs may be seen on many of these rootlets. The root hairs 

feed on the outside of particles of soil. Hence the finer 

a soil is the more feeding area it has 



SOIL BUILDERS 19 

precious soil into huge heaps, preparatory to carry- 
ing it away into the mountains, beyond the grasp of 
the avaricious whites. But the white men came 
before the soil could be carried away, took it for 
their grain fields, and it has been in heaps ever 
since. The more prosaic geologist, however, says 
that these fertile hills were made almost entirely 
by wind, assisted by erosion. In parts of Cali- 
fornia, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, the 
clay less '*dust soil" becomes cracked and loosened 
in dry weather and is carried away by the wind in 
dense clouds, banking up like snow behind rocks 
and bushes. Recall, also, the stories of caravans 
in the desert being overwhelmed by sandstorms. 
There are numerous records of large quantities 
of soil being carried over a thousand miles by 
wind. 

Even where the soil has been made mostly by 
other agencies, wind contributes something to it. 
Fine soil, leaves, chaff and dust are swept over the 
hill crest and deposited on the leeward slope. The 
amount of soil that is made and transported by 
wind, in the form of dust, must amount to an 
appreciable quantity in the course of a year. The 
slope opposite to that of the prevailing wind is 
usually less abrupt than the other, because so 
much soil material has been deposited there by the 
wind. 

Still another way in which wind assists in making 
soil is by blowing fine particles of sharp sand and 
dust against the rocks and so wearing them away. 
At first thought it would seem that the result of 
this would be very insignificant, but in reality it is 
often quite important. In arid parts of the United 
States and elsewhere, the millions and millions of 
soil grains blown against cliffs and rocks leave a 



20 SOILS 

striking testimony to their abrasive power. In a 
surprisingly short time rough corners are worn 
smooth, great boulders are undermined, hollows 
are scoured out, and sometimes large, erect rocks 
are completely filed off near the base, where the 
wind-blown sand is thickest, and fall over. The 
** Mushroom Rocks" of Wyoming are a notable ex- 
ample. In humid sections, the filing of rocks by 
blown sand is less conspicuous, except near the 
sea-coast. The windows of houses near the coast 
are roughened and sometimes eaten through by the 
natural sandblast. 

THE SOIL TEEMS WITH LIFE 

There are other soil builders, more minute but not 
less active or influential than those that have been 
mentioned. The old idea was that the soil is dead; 
the fact is, it teems with life. It contains germs of 
decay, bacteria that influence in some mysterious 
way the palatability of plant foods, ferments of 
many kinds, moulds of diverse sorts — a fertile soil 
fairly hums with activity. Countless tiny organ- 
isms, visible only to the eye behind a micro- 
scope, are constantly at work, changing, break- 
ing down, building up. Some are beneficial, 
some are harmful, some are harmless. How 
many kinds there are, and what part each plays 
in the complex operation of soil building, no- 
body knows, for the science of bacteriology is yet 
at its beginning. 

Every farm presents many phases of soil building 
and soil wasting. The farmer should observe the 
various agencies at work upon his land, and turn 
them to his own profit. He should remember that 
the soil is not dead, but alive; that it is constantly 




22. A SEDENTARY SOIL OF NORTH GEORGIA 

It is made by the surface weathering of the underlying rock — the red shale here shown 
coming to the surface 




A TRANSPORTED SOIL— THE "PALOUSE COUNTRY' 
AND WASHINGTON 



OF OREGON 



It was laid down in these low hills mostly by wind. This soil often is several hundred 
feet deep and is very rich 




24. AN ALLUVIAL OR WATER-MADE SOIL— THE MOCCASIN BENT* OF 
THE TENNESSEE RIVER, FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 
NEAR CHATTANOOGA, TENN. 

There are several thousand acres below the "ankle." Sometime the river will cut 
through at that point. Alluvial soils are usually deep and rich 




25. A SMALL BROOK DOING EXACTLY THE SAME WORK AS THE 
RI\ER ABOVE 

Note how it is cutting into the bank on one side, and building up soil on the 
other. Mo\-ing water is levelling the world 



SOIL BUILDERS 21 

swept by winds, worn and transported by 
waters, broken and refined by frost and air, 
loosened and enriched by plants and animals, 
and all the while creeping nearer and nearer to 
a level. 



CHAPTER II 

THE NATURE OF SOIL 

IF WE take up a handful of mellow soil and look 
at it closely, we can see only a crumbling mass 
of particles, intermixed with black bits of de- 
cayed and decaying vegetation. There seems to 
be no life in it. Put a bit of this soil on a 
glass slide and look at it under a powerful mi- 
croscope; a scene of constant activity is now 
revealed. Moulds, ferments, decays, bacteria, 
and other organisms are constantly at work, 
destroying, creating, changing the structure and 
the agricultural value of this soil. Currents of 
water pass through it; waves of heat quicken it. 
The tiny particles of rock are ground and worn 
smaller each year, and the plant foods are 
changed from one form to another. The soil has 
a flora and a fauna scarcely less complex than 
that which clings to its surface. Little is now 
known about the soil as compared with other 
agricultural subjects; it is remarkable that the 
soil, the foundation of agriculture and the be- 
ginning of all wealth, should have received so 
little minute study. We may expect the present 
deep interest in soil physics and soil bacteri- 
ology to greatly increase our knowledge of 
this most important factor in successful farm- 
ing. Some of the significant facts about the 
nature of the soil, according to present knowl- 
edge, are considered in the following para- 
graphs. 

22 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 23 

THE FINENESS OF SOIL 

It was stated in Chapter I that the basis of most 
farm soils is rock, ground into "rock-meal" by 
Nature's millstones, the air, water, frost, ice and 
other elemental forces. At first the soil particles 
are very large, mere fragments of rock at the base 
of a cliff, but upon these wild morning-glories or 
mulleins may be able to grow. Some hundreds of 
years later these small rocks will be finer; perhaps 
they will average less than one-quarter^inch in dia- 
meter, and they will be mixed with humus. The fin- 
ing process goes on a few generations or centuries 
more, until the pieces of rock have been broken into 
such small particles that farm crops thrive upon 
them. Nearly every soil is constantly becoming 
finer. All soils that contain small rocks or pebbles 
receive from them each year many particles of soil 
by weathering, and the size of the rocks and 
pebbles is reduced that much. Even the rich 
prairie loam or alluvial clay, which is apparently 
all soil and contains no rocks or pebbles at all, is 
becoming finer. Weathering is much less active 
on such soil, however, than on gravelly and stony 
soils. 

The number of individual particles in a fertile 
soil is astonishing to those who have not tried to 
count them under a microscope. A good corn 
soil has about 280,000,000,000 particles in an 
ounce, while the clay loams that are preferred for 
grass often have 400,000,000,000 particles in an 
ounce. These particles are of varying sizes and 
shapes, even in the same soil. Sometimes they 
are uniform and rounded, and pack together 
poorly, leaving large spaces between them, like 
marbles piled together. Sometimes they are 



U SOILS 

uneven and jagged, packing together tightly, like 
the crushed rock of a macadamized road. 

The spaces between the soil particles differ in 
size and shape, according to the size and shape of 
the grains. I have met a farmer who could not 
quite see how a soil .could contain air at a depth 
of four feet, yet he admitted that there must be 
air at the bottom of his wheat bin. The trouble 
was he looked upon the soil as a solid mass, since 
he could not see the spaces between the grains 
with his naked eye as he could in wheat. 
If he would think of his soil as a bin of wheat, 
with the kernels about one-millionth as large, 
he could see how it is that air and water pass freely 
through all ordinary soils, and to a great depth. 

It is of practical as well as of scientific interest 
to know about the size of the grains of a soil, and 
the size of the spaces between them. The value 
of a soil for certain crops depends quite largely 
upon just such factors. With the refinement of 
soil surveys and methods, soil experts assure us 
that they will be able to tell us with a fair degree of 
certainty that soils containing, for example, from 
250,000,000,000 to 350,000,000,000 particles per 
ounce are adapted for potatoes; soils containmg 
350,000,000,000 to 450,000,000,000, for onions, 
and so on. At present we classify soils and judge 
their adaptability for certain crops in grosser terms ; 
we say potatoes do best on a sandy loam, and that 
an alluvial clay loam is excellent for onions. There 
are limits to the practical value of this informa- 
tion, for the fineness of the soil is but one of many 
factors that determine the adaptibility of a cer- 
tain soil for a certain crop; yet this one point is 
extremely valuable to know when selecting land 
for special crop farming. 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 25 

Fineness is Richness. — The fineness of the soil 
has a very important bearing upon its fertility. 
Other things being equal, the finer a soil is, the 
richer it is, because it contains more surface 
for the roots to feed upon. The rootlets of 
plants do not suck up particles of soil, as 
Jethro Tull supposed, in his now famous 
"Horse-hoeing Husbandry." They feed upon 
the film water upon the outside of the soil 
grains. This contains much plant food dis- 
solved from the grains. The natural agencies 
that dissolve plant food from the soil — water, air, 
etc., act only on the outside of the particles. Hence 
the more surface there is to the grains, the greater 
is the "pasturage," or feeding area for the rootlets, 
and the more rapid is the weathering. If a small 
stone is broken into six pieces, the pieces have 
several times more surface, in the aggregate, than 
the unbroken stone. It has been calculated that 
if every particle in one cubic foot of mellow soil 
could have all its surface spread out flat, the ag- 
gregate surfaces of all these grains would cover 
about one acre. 

The presence of small stones and pebbles in a 
soil is beneficial, making it lighter, more porous, and 
warmer. It would be a great calamity if all soils 
contained no pebbles and larger pieces of rocks. 
These are a store of plant food which is added to 
the soil from year to year. Yet the farmer should 
remember that, in general, fineness means richness. 
If a soil is lumpy, because of lack of humus or 
excessive moisture, its available feeding area is 
greatly reduced. This matter is considered more 
fully in succeeding chapters, where practical 
methods of making a soil fine and mellow are de- 
scribed. 



26 SOILS 

THE WEIGHT OF SOILS 

This depends upon their composition and com- 
pactness. It is of interest to the farmer chiefly as 
an indication of the amount of vegetable matter 
that a soil contains, because this influences its value 
for cropping. The coarser the grains, the heavier 
the soil; humus makes a soil lighter. A heavy 
soil — one weighing over 80 lbs. per cubic foot — is 
likely to be benefited by the addition of humus. 
As the term is commonly used, however, a heavy 
soil is one that is tenacious, and refers to texture, 
not to weight. 

Schubler gives the average weight of a cubic 
foot of dry soil as follows : 

Sand 100 lbs. 

Garden Soil rich in humus . 70 lbs. 

Peat Soil 30—50 lbs. 

The weight of the soil on an acre of land is so 
great that if a very small percentage of it is plant 
food this may amount to a very large quantity per 
acre. An acre of clay loam, nine inches deep, 
weighs about 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 lbs. Suppose 
this soil contains only one-tenth of one per cent, of 
nitrogen, which is an average amount of that plant 
food; the acre would contain, in the first nine 
inches only, 3,000 to 3,500 lbs. of nitrogen. Com- 
pared with this amount, the 30 to 75 lbs. of 
nitrogen that we apply as a fertiliser to an acre of 
impoverished land is a mere bagatelle. 

THE MINERAL CONTENTS OF THE SOIL 

The basis of most farm soils is rock that has been 
ground into very fine particles by frost, air, water. 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 27 

etc., and mixed with the remains of plants and 
animals. The value of decayed vegetation, or 
humus, in a soil is so great, and the farm practices 
resting upon this fact are so important, that this 
matter is treated in a separate chapter (XII) . 

The mineral contents of a soil depend upon the 
kind of rock from which it has been made. These 
rocks are of many kinds; the nature of a soil may 
often be determined by seeing specimens of the 
rocks it contains, provided the soil is south of the 
region that was covered by the great soil mixers, the 
glaciers. There is no mineral in any soil that 
cannot be found in the rock from which it came; 
there is no mineral in any plant that is not in 
the soil from which it sprang. 

Soil is being made from many kinds of rocks, 
principally quartz, feldspar, mica, apatite, zeo- 
lites, hornblende; and various combinations of 
these, as granite, which is made of quartz, feldspar, 
and mica. Quartz and feldspar form the largest 
proportion of most soils. The chief constituent of 
all soils that have been made from rocks is silica 
(pure sand), which is the principal ingredient of 
quartz. This is because silica is the hardest kind 
of rock material and hence it is not dissolved and 
lost as rapidly. 

The rocks of the earth, and the soils made from 
them, contain from 65 to 70 so-called *' elements," 
the simple ingredients; as iron, carbon, oxygen. 
These elements, however, unite with one another to 
make innumerable "compounds," or combinations 
of several elements. This might be illustrated by 
saying that eggs, salt and milk are the elements 
or ingredients of a compound — omelet. It is the 
great number and the intricacy of these compounds 
that make geology and chemistry so complex. 



28 SOILS 

No one kind of rock contains all the elements, 
but all of the rocks from which fertile soil is made 
contain at least seven of them — nitrogen, potassium, 
phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium, sulphur. 
No plant can grow unless these seven are present 
in the soil; they are the ''plant foods," and con- 
stitute from 80 to 90 per cent of most fertile soils. 
The first four of these seven are much needed by 
plants and so the soil is most likely to be exhausted 
of them by continuous cropping; while the latter 
three are usually so abundant that the farmer is 
never concerned about how he may add them to 
his soil. The nature and sources of these four 
essential plant foods, nitrogen, potash, phosphorus, 
and calcium, which are the necessary constituents 
of fertilisers, are discussed in Chapters XI to 
XIV. 

Besides these seven elements in the soil which 
are absolutely necessary for the growth of plants, 
a number of others are frequently absorbed by the 
roots of plants and used by them. Of these the 
most common are chlorine, silicon, aluminum, and 
manganese. Numerous experiments have shown 
that plants thrive as well without these as with 
them, so they must be considered as accidental 
or unnecessary elements. 

In considering the mineral contents of the soil 
as a supply of food for the growth of plants, we 
must not forget that the soil furnishes but a small 
part of the material out of which plants are made. 
We are so actively engaged in trying to keep up 
the fertility of our soils by checking their wastes, 
and by adding to them fresh supplies of the min- 
erals that our crops have taken from them, that we 
are apt to think that the plant comes from the soil 
alone. Yet over 90 per cent, of the crops that we 




ao. SAND DUNES NEAR LAKE MICHIGAN— A WIND-FORMED SOIL 

THAT IS VALUELESS 

Sometimes drifting sand covers valuable farm soils 




7. THE EVERGLADES OF FLORIDA— A SOIL BUILT LARGELY BY 

THE DECAY OF PLANTS 

Some day these glades will be drained and will become rich farming land 




^8. A UNIQUE "SOIL" 

These pineapples are growing thriftily upon coral rocks on Klliott's Key, Florida. 

There are no tine particles, as in ordinary soils, but some humus 

and guano are mixed with the rocks 




29. THE "PARTICLES" OF THE ABOVE SOIL 
The roots follow the cre\-ices. Compare with Fig. 22 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 29 

remove from a soil comes from the air. The air, 
not the soil, is the greatest storehouse of fertihty. 
From the air plants get, through their leaves, three 
other foods — oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. These 
are all gases, the latter being combined with oxy- 
gen in the form of carbonic acid gas. The supply 
of these plant foods is, so far as we know, in- 
exhaustible. A friend once remarked, "That is 
mighty lucky. I have a hard enough time now, 
trying to supply my worn-out soil with enough 
potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen to grow 
profitable crops; yet you say these are only side 
dishes of a plant's dinner. If I had to supply it 
with the main dishes, or fillers, as you might call 
these foods that it now gets from the air, I don't 
believe I could have raised my family of six on 
these forty rocky acres of New England soil." 

HOW WATER IS HELD IN THE SOIL 

All fertile soils contain many tons of water, which 
is present in the soil in several forms. First, and 
most conspicuous, is what is variously called free 
water, ground water, standing water or bottom water. 
This fills all the spaces between the particles up to a 
certain height, which varies with different soils, and 
even different parts of the same field. Free water 
is supplied by rainfall; it frequently comes to the 
surface as springs and is often the source of supply 
of wells. If a hole is dug in any soil water will 
stand in it up to a certain point, which may be 
several inches or many feet below the surface. 
This point is called the "water table." The 
height of the water table may be judged in a general 
way by the depth of surface wells, but this evidence 
is not always reliable. It may vary at different 



30 SOILS 

times during the year, according to the dryness of 
the season. 

We must consider, then, that beneath all farm 
soils, at some depth, is standing water; that we 
plow and harrow above subterranean lakes, which 
are no less lakes because the water is not entirely 
free but merely fills the spaces between the particles 
of soil. The importance of this fact lies in its in- 
fluences upon the production of a crop. If it is 
only two or three feet from the top of the soil to the 
surface of the lake, there is not enough dry soil 
on top for roots to grow in and the plants drown. 
Such soils are said to be shallow; they are of little 
value for ordinary farm crops until ditched or 
under-drained and the level of the underground 
lake lowered thereby. The draining of land 
is considered in detail in Chapter IX. 

Film Water. — Water is also present in all farm 
soils as film moisture. Above the water table is 
the soil in which the roots of farm crops forage. 
This soil must be moist, else plants would not grow 
in it ; but water does not fill all the spaces between 
the soil grains, as it does below the water table. 
If we look at a handful of this soil we cannot see 
water standing in it, but it feels moist. The water 
is sticking to the soil grains, covering them with a 
very thin film, as when small stones are dipped in 
water. It is held close to the grains by surface 
tension, or adhesion. If this soil were put in an 
oven and heated, the film water would be driven 
off as water vapour, and the soil would be left per- 
fectly dry. 

There is always a large amount of film water 
clinging to the grains of every soil, even in the dryest 
season. The dryest road dust has some film water 
clinging to it. The amount of water that can 




30. THE THREE CHIEF INGREDIENTS OF SOILS; ON LEFT, HUMUS OR 
DECAYING VEGETATION; ON RIGHT, A LUMP OF 
CLAY; IN MIDDLE, SAND 

These three are combined in nearly all farm soils in 
varying proportions 







*l5^-twl!afe!V^ v 



31. A CLAY SOIL CRACKING 

The soil may be cracked for some distance below the surface. Much soil 
water is escaping through the cracks 




■& HOW FILM WATER IS PREXENTED FROM EVAPORATING BY 
A SOIL MULCH 

The water drawn up from the pan by this soil has been stopped by the shallow layer of 
loose soil on top. Thus it is in the field illustrated below 




.:: ( ,\'\ I I \\ I ■, crRLIXG IN A DROUGHT 

A soil mulch has been made. How to furnish crops with an adequate and equable supply 
of water is one of the greatest problems of the farm 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 31 

adhere to a single grain of soil is, of course, in- 
finitely small, but the amount of water that can 
cling to all the soil grains of a field is enormous, 
especially when we consider the vast surface area 
of the grains, in the aggregate, A good farm soil 
often holds more than one-half its weight of film 
water. 

Film water is far more important in farming 
operations than free or bottom water, for it is the 
direct supply of plants. No common farm crops 
can thrive in free water, but all must have a large 
area of soil that is moist with film water. Much of 
this supply of film water, however, is drawn from 
the natural reservoir of free water below. 

Water absorbed from the air. — Under certain 
conditions the soil absorbs a small amount of water 
from the air. The air that fills the spaces between 
the particles of soil usually contains much water 
vapour; if the soil becomes very dry it may absorb 
some of this. The surface soil may also absorb 
water vapour from the air, especially when there 
are heavy fogs. This "hydroscopic" water, how- 
ever, is not of much importance as a means of 
supplying plants with water, except in a time of 
great drought. 

THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SOIL 

The soil must be warm in order to produce crops. 
Most farm soils of the United States are not likely 
to become too warm for ordinary crops; there is 
far greater likelihood that they may be too cold. 
This is especially true in the Northern States, where 
the season is short, and it is very often desirable to 
make the soil warmer, particularly in early spring. 
The seeds of most cultivated plants will decay 



32 SOILS 

before they have had time to germinate if the 
temperature of the soil is below 45° ; the colder the 
soil, the slower the seeds germinate. Only after the 
soil has reached a temperature of 65° to 70° do most 
crops grow well in it. The soil temperature that is 
considered most favourable for the germination of 
barley has been determined by experiment to be 61° 
to 70° F.; of clover, 77° to 100° F.; of pumpkins, 
100° F.; of tomatoes, 100° F. 

The growth of a crop after germination is in- 
fluenced fully as much by the temperature of the 
soil as is the sprouting of the seeds. The farmer 
knows that certain crops, as onions, barley, turnips, 
parsnips, peas and potatoes, are "cool plants"; 
they can be sown early when the ground is cold, 
and thrive in the coolness of spring. Others, as 
corn, tomatoes, melons and squashes, are *'hot 
plants"; seeds of these do not sprout well if sown 
very early, and the plants do not begin to grow 
satisfactorily until there have been summer days 
to warm the soil thoroughly and deeply. 

The Temperature of Different Soils. — The tem- 
perature of a soil depends upon many factors, most 
of which are beyond the control of the farmer, but 
some of them he can regulate by comparatively 
simple means. The temperature of every soil 
varies widely with the season, and from day to 
night. The surface soil becomes warm on a hot 
day and cools several degrees at night, but this 
fluctuation rarely extends below two and one- 
half feet. At a depth of thirty feet the soil tem- 
perature changes little if any throughout the year, 
even in the Northern States. Much also depends 
upon the materials of which the soil is composed. 
The coarser it is, the warmer it gets, and the better 
it holds the heat; hence gravelly and sandy 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 33 

loams are among the earliest and warmest of soils. 
In Europe, gardeners sometimes put loose gravel 
around grape vines to keep them warm during the 
night. But a soil in which the particles are very 
small, as in clay, warms much faster than sand 
because the particles lie so close together that the 
heat passes more readily from grain to grain than 
in sand where the grains lie loosely. For the same 
reason a clay soil loses more heat by radiation than 
a sandy soil. Moreover, a clay soil holds more 
water than a sandy soil and so loses more heat be- 
cause of the larger amount of evaporation. Hence, 
fine-grained soils, though they absorb more heat 
than coarse-grained soils, are colder. Sandy soils 
are "warm," clay soils are "cold." 

Drai7iing a Soil Warms it. — The warmth of a 
soil comes chiefly from the sun and incidentally 
from the fermentation and decay of the vegetable 
matter and other refuse that it contains. The 
temperature of a soil is modified most by the 
amount of water it contains. Wet soils are cold. 
The wetter a soil is the colder it is, at least during 
the summer, when warmth is needed most. It is 
the coolness as much as the excess of moisture and 
lack of air that makes corn with "wet feet" grow 
poorly. The chief reason for this is that it takes 
a large amount of heat to evaporate the excess 
water from a soil, and also much heat to warm the 
wet soil that remains, water being a poor con- 
ductor of heat, the evaporation of one pound of 
water from a cubic foot of clay soil makes it 10 
degrees cooler. There may be a difference of 7° 
to 10° in the temperature of a well-drained 
loam and a poorly drained soil of the same 
character. There is one exception to the state- 
ment that the wetter a soil is the cooler it is. 



34 SOILS 

In early spring we frequently have warm rains 
that raise the temperature of the surface soil several 
degrees. It is after these rains that "things just 
jump." 

Fortunately the means of controlling this factor 
is largely in the hands of the farmer. The excess 
water may be removed, and the soil warmed by 
draining it. The draining of land by deep plowing, 
ditching, tiling and other methods is considered 
in Chapter IX. 

Influence of Exposure on Warmth of Soil. — The 
"lay of the land" with reference to the compass, and 
the steepness of the slope, have an important in- 
fluence on the warmth of the soil. The soil on a 
northern slope — which receives about one-third 
less sunshine than a southern slope, depending 
upon its steepness — naay average 7° to 10° cooler in 
summer than the soil on a southern slope. The 
soil of a gentle southern or western slope may be 
3° to 5° warmer than the same kind of soil is on a 
level. In the northern part of the United States the 
sun is always more or less in the south, so that its 
rays never strike level soil squarely. It is farthest 
in the south when the need of greater soil warmth 
is most likely to be felt. In early spring a slope of 
12 to 15 feet in a hundred will catch the largest 
number of the sun's rays, being most nearly at 
right angles to them. Many of the rays glance off 
from the level land because they strike it obliquely. 
The practical conclusion is that a moderate slope 
to the south or southwest is the best site for a crop 
when earliness is desired; which is what hus- 
bandmen, especially fruit growers and gardeners, 
have known and practised for centuries. 

Dark-coloured Soils Absorb More Heat. — The 
colour of a soil is often some index to its agricul- 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 35 

tural value and has an important influence on its 
temperature. A dark- coloured soil is usually 
warmer and earlier than a light-coloured soil. All 
dark substances absorb more of the sun's rays 
than light substances. That is why we wear light- 
coloured clothes in summer, and partly why snow 
melts faster on the dark-coloured, plowed ground 
than on the meadow. In Switzerland farmers some- 
times hasten the disappearance of the snow by strew- 
ing it with black, powdered slate. Gardeners some- 
times sprinkle a light-coloured soil with peat, 
charcoal and bog mould; these are called "sun 
traps." Melons are ripened in Saxony with the aid 
of a layer of coal dust. But although colour has 
an important influence on the power of a soil to 
absorb heat, it has not ability to retain heat. Schub- 
ler states that, other things being equal, a dark- 
coloured soil is about 8° warmer near the surface 
than a light-coloured soil. 

This difference in the temperature of soils, due to 
colour, may have a marked influence upon the 
growth of a crop, especially on its germination. 
When earliness is a prime consideration, as it is 
with most market-garden crops, the colour of a 
soil may become very important. Dark, sandy 
loams, rich in humus, are preferred by market 
gardeners. Light-coloured soils may be made 
dark by filling them with humus. Two or three 
green-manuring crops plowed under will darken a 
light-coloured soil quite noticeably. I have a 
neighbour who, in three years, has transformed a 
poor, yellow soil into a black, retentive and pro- 
ductive loam by plowing under four inches of com- 
posted manure every fall. Another neighbour, 
under similar circumstances, has accomplished 
nearly as good results by plowing under muck 



36 SOILS 

drawn from a near-by swamp. The chief 
reason for adding humus to a soil is to improve 
its texture, but another benefit, and one that 
is often quite important, is to improve its 
colour. 

The buff yellow and yellowish-brown colours of 
soils are usually due to the presence of iron oxides. 
These soils are most common south of the glaciated 
part of the United States, particularly in the south- 
ern Appalachian states. 

The Influence of Tillage on Soil Temperature. — 
The way in which a soil is handled has much to do 
with its warmth. Uneven, ridged soil, like that 
left by fall plowing, loses more heat than smooth, 
level soil. However, ridging may warm the soil 
by drying it, and this usually more than counter- 
balances the loss of heat because of the greater 
surface exposed. Rolling land in fair and warm 
weather makes it warmer, but rolling it in cloudy 
and cold weather, especially if it is wet, makes it 
colder. Deep plowing makes the soil cooler, 
because loose soil is a poor conductor of heat. The 
decay and fermentation of farm manure plowed 
into a soil may raise its temperature several de- 
grees; it produces as much heat in the soil as it 
would if burned in the open air. Manured soil 
is usually about 2° warmer in spring than unma- 
nured soil. Thorough tillage, especially in the 
preparation of a seed bed, has a marked influ- 
ence on soil temperature; it prevents the evap- 
oration of soil moisture and hence keeps in the soil 
the large amount of heat that it takes to evaporate 
water. Good tillage saves heat, then, as well as 
water, especially in early spring. This means that 
the soil for early crops should be plowed early and 
tilled often. 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 37 

THE VENTILATION OF THE SOIL 

The spaces between the soil grains are filled 
either with water, or air, or both. This soil air is 
somewhat different from the free air above the sur- 
face, containing less oxygen, more carbonic acid gas 
and more ammonia gas. Part of its oxygen is used 
by the plant roots; the other gases are absorbed 
from the vegetable matter decaying in the soil. 

Practically all of our farm crops need a well 
ventilated soil. The roots of plants, except certain 
bog, marsh and water plants, must have air to 
breathe. If it is denied them, because the inter- 
spaces of the soil are filled with water, the plants 
will die. Corn is "drowned out" in low, wet 
places, chiefly because the roots cannot breathe. 
Furthermore, air is needed in the soil to make more 
plant food. The air penetrates deeply into the soil 
and its oxygen, carbonic acid and ammonia dissolve 
the minerals and make the soil more fertile. The 
nitrogen of this air may be used as a food by certain 
plants (See Chapter XII), The oxygen of the 
soil air combines with the nitric acid produced by 
the decay of plants, making it a nitrate, which is 
a plant food. Manure which is piled loosely, so 
that air penetrates it readily, heats quicker and 
stronger than tightly packed manure; likewise a 
soil that is well drained and open, so that air passes 
into it freely, has more life, fermentation and 
fertility in it than a close-grained, air-tight soil. 
Air may penetrate the soil to a depth of many feet, 
depending upon its openness. Soil air changes in 
temperature like surface air, and continually passes 
up and down in currents. 

Methods of Improving the Ventilation of Soil. — 
Any kind of tillage which stirs and loosens the soil. 



38 SOILS 

like plowing and harrowing, promotes a better aera- 
tion, or ventilation, of the soil. Plowing under farm 
manure, green manure or stubble also has the same 
desirable effect, since the humus thus produced 
separates the particles of soil and renders it more 
porous, hence more open to the downward passage 
of air. Under-draining, however, is the chief 
means of ventilating a heavy soil. Remove the 
water and the air will rush in. When the water 
table is lowered two or three feet, as it may be by 
under-draining, the roots of plants grow deeper, 
when they decay, they leave little channels in the 
soil and through these air penetrates. Earthworms 
and ants still further deepen and aerate the soil 
by following these channels. 

When land is tile-drained, the tiles themselves 
provide a system of underground ventilation of far 
reaching influence. The soil of a tile-drained 
field is ventilated much more thoroughly than the 
soil of another field of the same character in which 
the water table stands naturally at the same height. 
The air in tile drains is largely surface air. 

The roots of most farm crops deepen and aerate 
the soil, but the roots of leguminous plants, espe- 
cially of clover and alfalfa, are particularly useful 
in soil ventilation. This is partly because clover 
roots are large and bore straight down into the sub- 
soil for several feet, leaving much larger and more 
effective channels for the passage of air and water 
than the roots of grains ; and also, in a very slight 
measure, because these plants absorb nitrogen 
from the soil air, thus making it necessary for more 
surface air to be forced into the soil to replace that 
which is lost. 

Fortunately for the farmer, most soils are able 
to absorb various gases, notably ammonia, which 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 39 

is very valuable for the nitrogen which it contains. 
Advantage is taken of this fact when decaying 
animal matter is buried to remove the offensive 
smell, and when sandy loam is used behind cows in 
the stable. The soil acts much like a charcoal 
filter which is used to remove objectionable odors 
from water. 

THE ELECTRICITY OF THE SOIL 

Weak currents of electricity continually pass 
through the soil and through the plants it nour- 
ishes. In recent years the effect of soil electricity 
on plant growth has been studied quite thoroughly. 
The practical value of passing moderate currents 
of electricity over and through the soil by means of 
wires has been demonstrated in several European 
and American fields. For this specific purpose 
Messrs. R. &B. Bomford, near Evesham, England, 
have 19 acres of land with wires suspended 16 feet 
above the ground so as not to interfere with steam 
plowing. The current discharged from the wires 
is generated by a dynamo. This treatment is said 
to increase the yields of barley and wheat 25 per 
cent, and give a still larger increase of straw. It 
makes the plants germinate quicker and grow 
lustier. The current is turned on morning and 
evening until harvest. In our own country, several 
small fields and greenhouse soils have been treated 
with electricity from wires sunk in the soil, 
with decidedly beneficial results. The U. S. 
Department of Agriculture is making a special 
study of this matter. 

Most of the beneficial effect of electricity is 
probably due to the fact that it makes some of the 
plant foods more soluble; perhaps, also, it enables 



40 SOILS 

the plants to take some nitrogen from the air. 
Only weak currents can be used; a strong current 
kills the plants. It is quite doubtful whether 
the benefit derived from the use of a weak current 
will make it profitable to use electricity in general 
crop production, for the expense of wiring a field 
is large; but it may be useful in greenhouses. 

GERM LIFE IN THE SOIL 

No soil has exactly the same composition from 
year to year, or even from month to month. It 
is constantly receiving additions of new soil from 
the weathering of rocks, from the decay of plants, 
the deposits of winds and other sources. It is 
constantly losing by leaching, by erosion and by 
the demands of plant growth. It also has numer- 
ous activities within itself that exert a most potent 
influence on its fertility. Some of these activities 
are physical, some are chemical and some are due 
to germ life. A few are already known and under- 
stood, but only the merest beginning has been 
made in the study of soil life. 

Nitrogen-Fixing Germs. — One of the most 
interesting phases of soil life is the process called 
"nitrification," due to the activity of very minute 
germs or bacteria, and sometimes called the 
"nitric acid ferment." This is somewhat like 
the ferment that sours milk, and the bacteria in 
yeast that raise bread by their growth. Although 
the air contains vast amounts of nitrogen, this is 
not used by any plants, so far as is known, except 
to some extent by the "legumes," of which clovers, 
alfalfa and vetch are examples. (See Chapter 
XII.) Most farm crops get their nitrogen, which 
they need in considerable quantities, solely from 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 41 

the soil. This nitrogen enters into their structure, 
and is returned to the soil when the plants decay, 
but not in the same form. It enters the plant as a 
salt of nitrogen — a nitrate; it returns to the soil 
in combination with many other substances, and is 
called by the chemist "organic nitrogen." The 
important point about this is that plants cannot 
use organic nitrogen, because it will not dissolve 
in water, and all the food that plants get from the 
soil must be taken in liquid form. It must first be 
separated from its partners in the compound, and 
then changed into a nitrate before the soil water 
can dissolve it, and the roots of plants absorb it. 

The work of transforming valueless organic 
nitrogen into valuable nitrates, which are plant 
food, is performed by our tiny helpers, the "nitro- 
gen-fixing germs." They are found in all fertile 
soil in inconceivable numbers, busily engaged in 
making plant food out of all vegetation that is re- 
turned to the soil, provided the conditions are 
right. One essential condition is that they have 
plenty of food. All these ferments may be con- 
sidered very minute plants; they must have food 
like other plants. One food of the nitrogen fixing 
germs is phosphoric acid, which is also one of the 
most important foods of ordinary farm crops. If 
a soil has very little phosphoric acid in it, the 
transformation of humus into plant food is apt to 
take place very slowly. The principal food of the 
germs, however, is humus itself. This they can 
use only after the leaves, stems, or other vegetation 
has been thoroughly incorporated with the soil and 
is rotted. 

These minute plants need moisture and a 
medium temperature in order to thrive and do 
their work, as the yeast ferment needs moisture and 



42 SOILS 

a certain temperature in order to multiply and as a 
corn plant needs water and hot weather in order to 
bring forth its increase. The growth of these 
microscopic soil plants is checked in very dry 
weather as much as the growth of the larger plants 
above ground. Furthermore, they do not thrive 
in a very wet soil. The temperatures most favour- 
able for their growth have been found to be 54° to 
99° F, In the Southern States they grow the year 
around. Another essential condition is a plenteous 
supply of oxygen, such as would be had if the soil 
were well drained and hence well ventilated. 

It will be seen, therefore, that the conditions that 
favour the growth of these useful workers are 
those that are most necessary for the growth of 
farm crops — a moist, well-drained soil and thor- 
ough tillage. Given these conditions, a multitude 
of the germs attack the rotten leaves, stems or 
stubble lying in the soil, or the clover, rye or cow- 
peas that have been plowed under, and soon 
change the useless organic nitrogen into a nitrate. 
In order to do this, however, the soil must contain 
a sufficient quantity of some "base,*' as lime, to 
combine with the nitrogen and so make it a nitrate. 
If the soil is at all acid, or sour, (see Chapter XIV), 
the germs cannot complete their work. 

Germs That Waste Nitrogen. — It is interesting 
to know that there are also at work in some soils 
bacteria that accomplish a result exactly opposite 
to that of the nitrogen-fixing germs. The process 
is sometimes spoken of as *' de-nitrification," and 
the germs may be called *' nitrogen- wasting" germs. 
They feed upon the nitrates, and set free the nitro- 
gen gas, which may then escape into the air and so 
be lost to the soil. These germs are abundant in 
wet soils ; under-draining benefits the soil in more 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 43 

ways than by merely removing water. Thus these 
two, the nitrogen-saving and the nitrogen-wasting 
bacteria, are pitted against each other; the one is 
a blessing to the soil, the other may be a detriment- 
It is wise farming to encourage the growth of the 
former by providing the conditions most favourable 
for them — thorough tillage and excellent drainage. 

Other Soil Bacteria. — These two kinds of bac- 
teria are but a very small part of the germ life of the 
soil. Adametz has calculated that there are 
50,000 germs of various kinds in a single gram of 
fertile soil. Many are beneficial, most of them 
are harmless, some are injurious. When the roots 
and stubble of a certain crop decay in the soil, a 
certain kind of "ferment," which is bacterial 
growth, is produced. If the crop is grown for 
several years on the same soil, after a while the soil 
may become crowded with the particular kind of 
ferment that the decay of the crop produces. The 
result may be that eventually the soil will no longer 
produce satisfactory crops of this plant, but it will 
produce larger crops of some other. This is the 
explanation, in many cases, of "clover-sick" and 
"flax-sick" soils and other soils that fail to respond 
as they used to. The practice of inoculating soils 
with certain beneficial bacteria is discussed in 
Chapter XII , with particular reference to legumi- 
nous crops. 

The limits of the practical value of soil bacteriol- 
ogy can only be surmised at this time ; but it seems 
not improbable that the farmers of some future 
generation may be able to inoculate their soils 
with different beneficial bacteria and secure spe- 
cific and valuable results, much as the butter 
maker of to-day secures certain flavours with certain 
cultures. The field of study opened before us by 



44 SOILS 

recent investigations in soil bacteriology is ex- 
tremely interesting and it may yield extremely 
important results. 

CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE SOIL 

The chemical changes that are constantly taking 
place in every farm soil are no less numerous and 
no less important than the changes resulting from 
the work of bacteria. The elements of which the 
soil is composed are always shifting and changing. 
The compounds, which are merely combinations 
of several elements, are continually dissolving 
partnership and the elements join themselves to- 
gether in new bonds, according to affinity. The 
nitrogen released from a nitrate by the nitrogen- 
wasting germs may be instantly seized by some 
near-by hydrogen to make ammonia. The am- 
monia may then be attacked by the nitrogen-saving 
germs and made into nitrous acid; which, in turn, 
may soon become a nitrate, or it may escape into 
the air and be lost to the soil, until brought down 
by rain. The phosphoric acid that the farmer 
applies in superphosphate or bone meal is at once 
seized by hungry elements and enters into several 
partnerships. Some of it is readily soluble in 
water and might leach away were there not some 
lime or sodium handy to catch it. That part of it 
which is not used by plants the first year or two 
may get locked up so strongly in partnerships 
with other elements that it becomes valueless to 
plants. When a potash fertiliser, as ashes, is 
applied to the soil, the plant food it contains would 
mostly dissolve in the soil water and wash away 
were it not that it unites with some of the *' bases" 
of the soil and becomes "fixed." In fact, the 



THE NATURE OF SOIL 45 

plant food in most fertilisers applied to soils would 
be quickly leached or washed away, if these chem- 
ical changes did not occur and hold it until the 
roots of plants can use it. Plants feed, not upon the 
materials that we apply to the soil — ashes, bones, 
phosphates, guano, and the like — but upon the 
chemical compounds formed in the soil by them. 

These and other chemical changes that all fer- 
tilisers pass through before they are absorbed by 
the roots of the plants illustrate what takes place 
with each and every constituent of the soil, whether 
it is essential to the growth of the plant or not. The 
soil is a great chemical laboratory. Numberless 
reactions, or new adjustments of the partnerships 
between the elements, occur every hour. No 
chemist holds the beaker or fires the great retort; 
the changes take place in obedience to natural 
laws, quietly and methodically, yet with results so 
far reaching that we can hardly grasp their signifi- 
cance. It is the business of the chemist and the 
bacteriologist to explore this laboratory and report 
how its chemical changes are effected by the dif- 
ferent methods of handling the soil. It is the 
business of the farmer to keep the soil laboratory 
in excellent working order, by a wise and varied 
husbandry ; and especially by giving careful atten- 
tion to those principles of good farming that we 
already know make it run smoothly — thorough 
tillage, excellent drainage, and a rotation of crops. 



CHAPTER III 

KINDS OF SOILS AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM 

SOILS may be classified according to their 
origin or according to their composition. 
With respect to origin all soils are either 
transported or sedentary; that is, they are composed 
of materials that have been moved by some natural 
agency, as wind, water, or ice, as discussed in 
Chapter I, or they have been made by the weather- 
ing of rocks or the decay of plants in the places 
where they now are. In one sense all soils are both 
sedentary and transported, since they have all 
received more or less material from other sources ; 
but these terms are meant to apply in a broad 
sense. 

SEDENTARY SOILS 

In a general way the soils in that part of Northern 
United States which was covered by the great 
glacier are mostly transported, while the soils 
farther south, and east of the Mississippi River, are 
mostly sedentary. Sedentary soils are usually not 
deep, because the mother rock beneath weathers 
very slowly, being largely protected by the soil 
above it. The red clay soils of Tennessee, Georgia 
and other parts of the South, and the famous "blue 
grass soil" of Kentucky, derived from limestone, 
are excellent illustrations of a sedentary soil. 
They are usually very fertile. 

Other examples of a sedentary soil are muck and 

46 



KINDS OF SOIL 47 

peat, which are made almost entirely by the decay 
of plants, together with the little mineral material 
that is blown in. The plant that accomplishes 
the most in this direction is sphagnum moss. It 
is a semi-aquatic plant and grows with great 
luxuriance, making a thick carpet over the 
water. Eventually the whole surface of a 
shallow pond may be covered with sphagnum. 
Other plants get a foothold upon this — rushes, 
sedges, cat- tails, cranberries, and the like. " Float- 
ing" cranberry bogs are quite common on the fresh- 
water marshes of Cape Cod. Finally the covering 
of plants is solid enough and has decayed suffi- 
ciently for small water-loving shrubs, as huckle- 
berries and alders, to get established. The float- 
ing carpet gets thicker and heavier from the decay 
of plants; finally it either breaks and sinks at once 
to the bottom of the stream or lake, or sinks into 
it gradually and is covered with water. Then 
begins the formation of peat. This process of 
pond, swamp, and stream filling is going on in all 
parts of the United States, mostly on a small scale 
but sometimes on large areas. One million acres 
of soil in the Kissimmee Valley of Florida have 
been made in this way. The Great Dismal Swamp 
of Virginia is another illustration. When drained 
these swamps may be very fertile. 

TRANSPORTED SOILS 

Transported soils are more numerous. Among 
the most important of these are the alluvial or 
water-made soils. These are rarely stony, are 
usually level, fine-grained and often very deep. 
Water usually leaves the soil it carries in more or 
less distinct layers; this "stratification" can often 



48 SOILS 

be seen in alluvial soils. The largest area of 
alluvial soil in the country is the flood plain or 
delta of the lower Mississippi. It reaches from 
the mouth of the Ohio southward for 1,100 miles. 
The whole area is flooded periodically and receives 
each time a deposit of the mud that gives the 
Missouri its Indian name, meaning "Big Muddy." 
It is exactly such conditions as this that have en- 
abled the valley of the Nile to produce bountiful 
crops for 4,000 years without artificial fertilisation. 
The same process is responsible for thousands of 
meadows, swales, and swamps in northern United 
States, and it may be seen in action on the banks 
and at the mouth of every stream. Alluvial soils 
are made mostly of very fine sand, and silt and clay. 
They vary greatly in chemical composition, but 
are usually very rich. 

Dri^t Soils. — Of even greater agricultural im- 
portance are "drift" soils, those that were formed 
by the action of the great ice sheet of the geologic 
past. They are distinguished from all others by 
having many rounded rocks or boulders, which 
were worn smooth and rounded by glacial action. 
Some drift soils are assorted or in layers, having 
been laid down by successive streams of water 
issuing from the ice; others are not in layers, having 
been deposited directly by the ice. The deposits 
of drift soil are not always spread evenly over 
the land. Sometimes the underlying rock comes to 
the surface, making patches of sedentary soil; 
sometimes drift soil is heaped into broad rounded 
knolls, from several feet to 300 feet high. These 
"morains" or "drumlins" are a distinctive feature 
in the farm landscape from eastern Massachusetts 
to North Dakota and north into British Columbia. 
The average depth of drift soils is about 30 to 50 



KINDS OF SOIL 49 

feet, but in some places it is 300 to 500 feet deep, 
and often it is merely a skim coat of seven or eight 
inches over the surface. 

As would be expected, the distribution of drift soils 
is very erratic. An acre may contain several wholly 
distinct kinds. There is a field of one acre near Lan- 
sing, Mich., in which about one-half of the soil is 
a stiff clay, one-fourth is gravelly loam and the 
balance, which was formerly a swamp, is muck. 
Who would try to advise the owner how to treat this 
field as regards tillage, fertilising, and draining.^ 

All the variations in soils that affect the production 
of crops are not apparent on the surface; the char- 
acter of the subsoil has a very important influence 
on the fertility of the surface soil. The subsoils of 
drift or glacial soils are extremely varied. The diver- 
sity of many of the soils of northeastern United 
States may be judged from a report of James Geikie 
on the different kinds of soils that he found in a cut 
355 feet deep, working from the surface downward: 

Sandy clay 5 feet 

Brown clay and stones .... 17 " 

Mud 15 " 

Sandy mud 31 " 

Sand and gravel 28 " 

Sandy clay and gravel 17 " 

Sand 5 " 

Mud 6 " 

Gravel 30 " 

Brown sandy clay and stones . . 30 " 

Hard red gravel 4 " 6 inches 

Light mud and sand 1 " 8 '' 

Light clay and stones 6 " 6 " 

Light clay and thin block . . . 26 " 

Fine sandy mud 36 " 

Brown clay, gravel, and stones . . 14 " 4 " 

Dark clay and stones 68 " 

355 feet 



50 SOILS 

This is probably more varied than most drift 
soils, but it shows the extent to which the ice, and 
streams of water produced by the melting of ice, 
have assorted and mixed the soils and soil ma- 
terials of the Northeast. 

The value of drift soils for cropping is very 
variable, depending upon the material of which 
they are composed, and the way in which they are 
laid down. As a rule, however, they are fertile be- 
cause they are composed of materials that have 
been brought together from several sources, and 
there is therefore greater likelihood that the essen- 
tial plant foods will be present in abundance. They 
are apt to contain more sand or gravel and less 
clay than sedentary soils; hence they are 
usually of good texture and easily worked. But a 
drift clay or muck is not more valuable or manage- 
able than a sedentary clay or muck. Those con- 
taining a fair percentage of clay are more valuable 
than those that consist chiefly of gravel. 

Wind-built Soils. — Still another type of trans- 
ported soils — those built mostly by wind — is some- 
times very valuable for cropping. The wind- 
formed soils of Washington and Oregon are com- 
posed of fine basaltic ash. The loess and adobe 
soils discussed further on have been made partly 
by wind. More frequently, however, wind-formed 
soils are of little or no value, being composed 
mostly of fine sand ; and moreover, they may cover 
and ruin other soils that are valuable. On the 
•southeast shores of Lake Michigan sand dunes 
100 to 200 feet high have buried large areas of 
forest. The sand hills of Wyoming cover about 
20,000 square miles of territory on both sides of the 
Niobrara River. These are a part of the "Bad 
Lands," a dreary waste of naked, rounded hills, 



KINDS OF SOIL 



51 



composed chiefly of yellowish or grayish sand, or 
sandy clays blown by the wind, and extending over 
portions of Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and 
Utah. The "Pine Barrens" of Michigan and of 
the Atlantic Coast are other illustrations of drift 
soils worthless for agricultural purposes. 

COMPOSITION OF SOILS 



With respect to composition, all soils are made of 
four ingredients — sand, silt, clay and humus. No 
one of these ingredients alone makes a valuable soil, 
nor is it possible to find any soil composed entirely 
of a single grade. The most valuable soils — the 
loams — are a mixture of the four ingredients. 

The basis upon which the four ingredients of 
soils are separated is the size of the grains, and here 
an arbitrary division is made. This is called a 
"mechanical" analysis" of the soil as distinguished 
from a chemical analysis, described in Chapter 
XI. The coarser materials are screened from the 
soil by passing it through several sieves, with 
meshes of different sizes. Fine sand, silt, and clay 
are separated by allowing them to settle in water, 
the fine sand settling first, then the silt and finally 
the clay. The approximate size of the different 
ingredients is: 



Coarse sand 


• -h to J^ 


Medium sand 


• oT to Y^^ 


Fine sand . 


tU to ^7) 


Very fine sand 


• ^\ts to -^ 


Silt . . . 


7^0 to 75-^7 


Fine silt. . 


• innnr to -^^-^ 


Clay . . . 


■J-JFTTTT to ^^si^.TFlTTy 



of an inch in diameter 



Sand is made chiefly of particles of quartz, and 



52 SOILS 

all its grains are large enough to be readily sepa- 
rated and distinguished without a microscope. 
The grains of sand are large because quartz is very 
hard, almost as hard as diamond; hence the grains 
weather very slowly. Sand contains very little 
plant food, since the spaces between the large grains 
allow water to pass through very readily. The 
chief value of sand in a soil is in making it mellow, 
porous and warm. Mix a handful of sand with a 
handful of stiff clay and note that the latter is made 
much more workable, but less retentive of moisture. 

Clay is made entirely of very fine particles, so 
small that a single grain cannot be seen without 
a microscope. It would take 5,000 large grains of 
clay laid side by side to measure an inch. Clay 
may be made from any kind of rock, as silica, 
limestone, mica and feldspar. Clay is exactly 
opposite to sand in its physical properties. Being 
very small, clay grains sink but slowly in water, 
so they are often carried long distances by streams 
and lodge only when the current becomes sluggish. 
The sediment that settles to the bottom of a glass of 
muddy water is mostly clay. Because it contains 
so many very small spaces between the minute 
grains, clay absorbs water slowly, but holds it 
tenaciously. Hence it is adhesive and unmanage- 
able when wet. Pure clay is a powerful cement. 
Clay in a soil gives it body and richness and in- 
creases its ability to hold water, but if a soil has too 
much clay it is wet, cold and hard to handle. 

8ilt is a name given to the grains of a soil that 
are intermediate in size and in character between 
sand and clay. It holds water well and is espe- 
cially rich in plant food. For these reasons a soil 
that contains a large proportion of silt is apt to be 
mellow and productive. Most of the soils of the 



KINDS OF SOIL 53 

western prairies, and in fact a large part of the 
grain soils of the United States, are composed 
mainly of silt. A high proportion of silt in a soil 
has about the same effect upon it as a large amount 
of clay, making it tenacious of water and of plant 
food. Many soils said to be clayey have more fine 
silt in them than clay. 

Humus is mostly decayed vegetation. All the 
vegetable matter in a soil, however, is not humus; 
the carpet of rotting leaves beneath a forest tree is 
not humus. Not until this is entirely decayed and 
has become a loose, black mould, in which neither 
leaf nor stem may be discerned, is it humus. There 
are all stages between this and the vegetation that 
is just beginning to decay, and all have value. The 
value of humus in a soil for increasing its capacity 
to hold water, for making it mellow, and for fur- 
nishing plant food has been stated in preceding 
Chapters, and is considered yet more fully in 
Chapter XII. 

THE LEADING TYPES OF FARM SOILS 

From these four materials — sand, clay, silt and 
humus — many kinds of soil have been made, dif- 
fering widely in the proportion of each ingredient, 
and in agricultural value. The relative amounts 
of each material in a soil influence its texture, the 
way it responds to heat and moisture, and its value 
for cropping fully as much as its richness in plant 
food. While nearly every fertile soil contains all 
four, most soils are pronounced one way or another. 
Thus we have, as a broad classification of agricul- 
tural soils, sandy soils, clayey soils (which include 
soils that are mainly silt) , and humus soils, in which 
each of the respective ingredients predominates to 



54 SOILS 

^ 

a greater or less degree. Then there are the loams, 
which are combinations of sand, clay, and humus, 
the sand predominating in sandy loams, and the 
clay in clayey loams. These are the common 
types of soils with which the farmer has to deal. 
Their characteristics, and brief suggestions on how 
they may be handled to best advantage, are given 
in the following paragraphs. 

SANDY SOILS 

Soils containing 80 per cent, of sand and less 
than 10 per cent, of clay are called sandy. 
These soils are usually poor in plant food and are 
leachy, especially if the sand grains are large. The 
finer the sand the more valuable is the soil, as a 
rule. In dry weather crops on sandy soils are 
quickly parched. These soils absorb little if any 
water from the air. On the other hand a sandy 
soil dries out very soon after a rain, so that it can 
be worked quickly. Moreover, a sandy soil is 
warm, because the large quartz grains hold heat 
well; they are miniature soapstones. If kept wet 
and if enriched, sandy soils respond with large 
crops, especially if the farmer fills them with 
humus. Heavy dressings of barnyard manure 
have a very beneficial eft'ect upon sandy soils, not 
merely because manure enriches them in plant food, 
but more particularly because the humus in it clogs 
the large spaces between the sand grains, making 
the soil less porous. A green crop plowed under 
has the same effect. Manures and fertilisers 
should not be applied to sandy soils long before the 
plants need them. 

Some of the most valuable early truck and fruit 
lands, notably in Delaware and New Jersey and 



KINDS OF SOIL 55 

elsewhere along the Atlantic seaboard, are sandy 
soils that have been built up and given greater 
body and life by green manuring. Soils known 
technically as "Norfolk sand," the '* Fresno sand" 
of California, and the "Miami sand" of inland 
regions are other examples. They are especially 
valuable where earliness is essential and are 
adapted for quick-growing crops, particularly 
Irish and sweet potatoes, peas, peppers, water- 
melons, canteloupes; also early fruits, especially 
strawberries and peaches. They are too light for 
wheat, oats, rye and other general farm crops. The 
main point to look after in handling a sandy soil 
is to fill it with humus. It should not be plowed 
deeply, as this loosens the soil still more. Heavy 
rolling compacts the grains and is often very 
beneficial on soils of this type. Liming will bind 
the particles together, making the soil more com- 
pact. 

SANDY LOAMS 

When a soil contains from 60 to 70 per cent, of 
sand it is commonly called a sandy loam; while a 
soil that is 70 to 80 per cent, sand is called a light 
sandy loam. The gradations between the two are 
insensible. The balance of these soils is clay 
silt and humus. These are valuable soils for mar- 
ket garden crops, because they are early, hold a 
fair amount of water and fertility and are easy to 
work. Sandy loams are especially desirable for 
all the trucking crops mentioned as succeeding on 
sandy soils and are fairly good for general farming 
crops, although rather light for this purpose. Corn, 
cotton, rye, potatoes, and the common garden 
vegetables, as melons, squashes, turnips, tomatoes. 



56 SOILS 

beans, etc., enjoy this type of soil. Clover and alfalfa 
will do well upon it, provided the soil is deep; 
black raspberries and peaches also thrive upon 
sandy loams. However, they are preeminently 
vegetable gardening soils. 

In handling these soils the important thing to 
do is to remedy their chief defects, which are leach- 
iness, and, as a consequence, deficiency in available 
plant food. They need to be fertilised highly 
and are likely to be benefited most of all by stable 
manure, which corrects both defects. Usually it 
is not best to plow them in the fall and leave them 
over winter without a cover crop, because much 
plant food will be lost by leaching. 

CLAY SOILS 

Soils containing 60 per cent, or more of clay and 
silt are commonly called clay soils. A large part 
of so-called clay soil rnay be silt. Some clay soils are 
80 to 90 per cent clay and silt; these are usually 
worthless for farming. Clay soils are exactly the 
reverse of sandy soils in nature and in agricultural 
value. The very small spaces between the ex- 
ceedingly fine grains admit air and water very 
slowly. When a clay soil is once thoroughly wet 
it is sticky ; when dry it cracks and bakes and be- 
comes cloddy. Hence, such soils are not only hard 
to till, but they are also hard on plants, often being 
too wet in a wet time and too dry in a dry time. 
The diflBculty lies in the slowness of clay soils to 
move water. The dark, bluish-gray colour which 
so many clays possess is mostly due to the presence 
of iron oxide or iron sulphide; the red or yellow, 
is due to the presence of peroxide and protoxide of 
iron. 



KINDS OF SOIL 57 

On the other hand, clay soils are usually rich in 
plant food, especially in potash. Plants once 
established in them, particularly deep-rooting 
plants, are carried ahead vigorously. The farm 
crops that succeed most generally on clay soils are 
the cereals, grasses and some tree fruits, notably 
the apple, pear and plum. Clay land is especially 
valuable for hay. 

The treatment of a clay soil should be that which 
will remedy its chief defect — heaviness. Under- 
drainage will do much to accomplish this result. 
Underdrainage removes the surplus water in a dry 
time and promotes aeration and warmth in these 
soils, many of which are sadly deficient in these 
respects. The fine particles of clay may be 
separated from each other and the soil loosened 
and lightened by mixing them with particles of 
humus or sand. Barnyard manure or a green 
manure crop will lighten a heavy clay soil, 
as well as give body to a light sandy soil. Man- 
ures applied to clay soils in the fall lose but 
little of their plant food by leaching. It is 
rarely practicable to haul sand upon a clay soil and 
plow it under, because of the expense, but if this 
can be done expediently the result will be gratifying. 
It often happens that a muck bed, marking the 
place where a small swamp formerly existed, is 
adjacent to clay land. Three or four inches of 
muck spread upon clay soil is of immediate and 
lasting benefit. 

Extreme caution should be used in plowing and 
tilling clay soils. If plowed when too wet they 
become cloddy. There is a certain point between 
wetness and dryness when a clay soil crumbles 
quite readily; it should be tilled only at this time, 
so far as is possible. The texture of a clay soil 



58 SOILS 

may be ruined for several years by one injudi- 
cious plowing, when it was too wet. Unless 
the soil is very tenacious, and "runs together" or 
*' puddles" if left bare over winter, clay land may 
be fall-plowed to advantage, leaving it rough and 
exposed to the mellowing action of freezing and 
thawing. The crust that forms so easily over the 
surface of clay soil in summer should be prevented 
by frequent shallow tillage. Something may also 
be done to improve the texture of clay soils, in 
certain cases, by liming them. This causes many 
of the fine grains to stick together, forming larger 
grains, thereby making the soil looser and more 
porous. The liming of soils is considered in 
Chapter XIV. 

CLAY LOAMS 

These are quite similar to clay soils, but they 
contain less clay and silt, and more sand. A soil 
carrying 30 to 40 per cent, of clay is generally 
classed as a clay loam, and a soil carrying 40 to 50 

f)er cent, of clay as a heavy clay loam. A clay 
oam usually has 25 to 35 per cent, of sand, and a 
heavy clay loam 10 to 25 per cent, of sand. The 
fair proportion of sand mixed with the clay in this 
type of soils makes them easier to handle than clay 
soils, and more porous. They are apt to be rich, 
especially in potash, not only because of the store 
of native plant food, but also because they are very 
retentive soils. The plant food in fertilisers that 
may be applied to them is not quickly leached 
away, as it is on sandy soils, but is held very 
tenaciously by this more compact soil. Crops 
upon clay loams are not likely to suffer from 
drought as badly as on clay soils, because water 



KINDS OF SOIL 59 

moves through them more freely. Some clay 
loams, however, are cold and wet. These soils 
more than any other type, are benefited by under- 
drainage. 

The clay loams are suitable for a larger range of 
cropping than any other soils, except the loams 
themselves. They are especially valuable for 
grass, wheat and corn. In handling clay loams 
attention should be given to the details of manage- 
ment that are beneficial to clay soils, and espe- 
cially to underdrainage, judicious plowing and the 
incorporation of humus. 

LOAM SOILS 

These are the most useful "all around" soils; 
they combine the lightness and earliness of the 
sands, with the strength and retentiveness of the 
clays. Loams contain from 40 to 60 per cent, of 
sand, and 15 to 25 per cent, of clay. They "work 
up" easily, do not crust or crack, are well supplied 
with plant food, and, what is chiefly important, 
water moves through them freely and still they are 
not leachy. Practically all farm crops grow satis- 
factorily on a loam. It is especially suitable for 
potatoes, corn, market-gardening crops, and small 
fruits; but grasses, cereals, clover, alfalfa, and 
cotton, find it congenial. It requires no special 
treatment, except such attention to good tillage, 
drainage, and the addition of humus as is a neces- 
sary part of the best farm practice everywhere. 

GRAVELLY AND STONY LOAMS 

These are sandy loams, clay loams, or loams 
with an admixture of gravel or stones ; all pieces of 



60 SOILS 

rock from 1-25 of an inch in diameter up to two or 
three inches are gravel — larger pieces are stones. 
Gravelly and stony loams are most common in the 
North, especially in the Northeastern states, where 
they were formed by the work of glaciers. Most of 
the pieces of rock are" worn smooth. The presence 
of a large quantity of small stones in a soil makes it 
warmer, for rock absorbs heat more freely than 
soil, and loses it more slowly, thus keeping the soil 
warmer at night. If the stones are numerous 
and large, however, the increased difficulty of 
tillage may more than offset the advantage 
of earliness. For this reason a gravelly loam 
is usually more valuable than a stony loam. 
A gravelly or stony sandy loam is sought when 
extreme earliness is desired. Some of the most 
profitable strawberry plantations in New York are 
on this type of soils. As a rule they are better 
adapted for fruits, especially small fruits, than for 
staple farm crops. 

PEAT AND MUCK SOILS 

Peat and muck are the black soils produced 
when a luxuriant growth of plants decays slowly 
under water for many years. When the plants are 
but partially decayed, so that the soil is very 
spongy and fibrous, it is called peat. When decay 
has progressed further, and especially when the 
soil is alternately submerged and exposed to the 
air, becoming finer, blacker and no longer fibrous, 
it is called muck. Muck is an advanced stage of 
peat. Both are passing through the same process 
by which coal has been formed. 

Peat and muck swamps and bogs are found all 
over the eastern United States, and in many parts 



KINDS OF SOIL 61 

of the West except in the arid regions. Most of 
our fresh water marshes are muck or peat. They 
are not so numerous here, however, as in many 
parts of Europe, especially in Ireland, one-tenth 
of which is said to be peat bogs. These 
soils are being made to-day, where shallow lakes, 
ponds, streams, and swamps are being filled by the 
growth of plants, especially the sphagnum moss; 
but less peat is being made now than during a 
period in the earth's history when rainfall was 
more abundant. 

The Value of Peat and Much Soils. — The value 
of peat and muck soils for farming depends chiefly 
upon the amount of mineral matter they contain 
and upon their drainage. Some of these soils are 
nearly 100 per cent, humus, others are but 30 
per cent, humus. Considerable fine rock or mineral 
soil may be blown upon peat or muck land; the 
more of this the better. Muck, being further ad- 
vanced in decay than peat, is more apt to become 
serviceable as a farm soil than peat; it is, moreover, 
more compact and usually contains more mineral 
soil, having been above water longer. 

Many muck and some peat soils need only to be 
drained in order to become valuable for cropping. 
Thousands of acres of land, especially fresh marsh 
land, have been reclaimed in this way. In Michi- 
gan and Ohio reclaimed swamp lands are largely 
used for growing celery and onions. Open ditches 
are most commonly used for this purpose, these 
soils being so loose that tile drainage is usually 
impracticable at first, except for the most earthy 
mucks. The result of drainage is to lower the 
water table so that air can penetrate the soil. Many 
peats, and some mucks in which the decay has not 
progressed far, do not make good farm land, even 



62 SOILS 

after they are drained; they become very dry and 
chalky, having scarcely more power to draw up the 
free water beneath by capillary action than a pile of 
chips. Not until several years after drainage, when 
the fibrous matter has been broken down and made 
into fine soil, are soriie peat and muck soils able to 
grow profitable crops. 

When well drained and sufficiently fined to per- 
mit the free movement of water upward, these soils 
are especially suitable for cabbage, cauliflower, 
celery and peppermint. On the finest of mucks the 
grasses and a variety of vegetables are successful. 
In southwestern Massachusetts, and in New Jersey, 
Wisconsin, Michigan and some other sections, peat 
and muck bogs are ditched, the surface covered 
with 3 to 6 inches of sand, and then planted with 
cranberries. 

In handling muck and peat soils one must 
remember that they are largely humus and always 
contain a large per cent, of nitrogen, the chief fer- 
tilising element produced by the decay of vegeta- 
tion. In fact, muck often contains as much ni- 
trogen as barn manure, although but little of this 
is in available form, being in the form of 
organic nitrogen. These soils usually need 
fertilising with the mineral plant foods — potash, 
phosphoric acid, and lime. Wood ashes are espe- 
cially beneficial to muck soils. As a rule they do 
not respond to manuring as satisfactorily as soils 
that contain more mineral matter. 

LOESS SOILS 

The name "loess" is applied chiefly to large 
areas of soils that have been carried to their 
present resting places by water or wind, and which 



KINDS OF SOIL 63 

show no layers, being of the same nature through- 
out. The largest deposit of loess soils in the 
United States is the alluvial loess of the great 
Mississippi Valley, including thousands of square 
miles of the "prairie" soil of the central states. 
They are found in southern Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, 
Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana. Smaller areas of alluvial loess 
soils are found in the valleys of the Connecticut, 
Ohio, and other rivers; while wind-formed loess 
soils are found in California, Washington, Oregon 
and many other western states. There are large 
deposits in the valley of the Rhine, the famous 
steppes of Russia and the inland plains of China. 
Loess soils are noted for their great depth and 
remarkable fertility. In China they have pro- 
duced bountiful crops for over three thousand 
years, with little apparent diminution of fer- 
tility. The richness of our own loess lands 
in the central West is well known. There 
the soil is from 5 to 150 feet deep. Although 
loess soils may differ very widely chemically, 
they are all about the same physically — a fine 
silt or clay, possessing great tenacity. Most 
of the loess soil of the West contains from 
55 to 75 per cent, of silt and from 6 to 15 per 
cent, of clay. 

ADOBE SOILS 

These peculiar soils are found only in the arid 
West, especially in Utah, Arizona, southern 
California, New Mexico, western Texas, and 
in the elevated valleys of Colorado and New 
Mexico. They consist very largely of clay and 
silt, partly worn down from surrounding high land 



64 SOILS 

and partly blown there from elsewhere. They 
are exceedingly sticky when wet and bake very 
hard when dry, so that they are used for building 
purposes. This makes them very hard to work; 
in short, they are aggravated clay soils. When 
they are wet enough they are remarkably pro- 
ductive, as they are unusually rich in plant food. 
Some adobe soils are very deep- — those in some of 
the valleys of the arid regions being over 2,000 
feet deep. 

Adobe soils are usually light buff or gray, ex- 
cept when they contain a considerable quantity of 
humus, which makes them darker. They are very 
fine grained; no grit is felt when adobe is rubbed 
between the fingers. The depth, fineness and 
virginal fertility of adobe soils, since they have lost 
very little from leaching, makes them wonderfully 
productive. These soils are quite similar to the 
loess soils of the Central West. 

SALT MARSH SOILS 

All along the Atlantic Coast, and especially in 
New England, are thousands of acres of marsh 
land that some day will be used for farm crops. 
They are made largely from soil that has been 
worn by the sea from the rocks on the coast. Each 
wave that curls its crest over the "stern and rock- 
bound coast" wears it away to some extent, as is 
witnessed by the honeycombed rocks at Marble- 
head and elsewhere. The headlands that project 
into the sea are worn down and strewn upon the 
beach as sand. Each wave that comes tumbling 
in grinds these rock particles a little finer — we can 
hear them rustle and grind against each other in 
the undertow. After a while the coarse sand of the 



KINDS OF SOIL 65 

beach becomes fine sand or mud; it may then be 
carried out to sea by the undertow or deposited 
along the inlets and bays by coastwise currents. 
The latter case marks the beginning of a salt 
marsh soil. As soon as it gets fairly well started, 
though still covered with water, the soil is occupied 
with a dense growth of eel-grass. This accumulates 
more soil; sea weed, dead fish and other refuse 
collect and the soil thickens rapidly. Finally it is 
raised above the tides and the eel-grass gives place 
to other grasses which slowly extend to the beach 
over the mud flats. In the course of time farmers 
cut from these flats "salt hay," which is much 
relished by cattle. 

All salt marshes are likely to be overflowed 
occasionally. It is necessary to drain them thor- 
oughly and to prevent the overflow of salt water by 
diking before they can be used for ordinary farm 
crops, which object to so much salt in the soil. 
It is stated that there are over 200,000 acres of very 
rich salt marsh land between New York City and 
Portland, Me., which would be worth $20,000,000 
if reclaimed; and that there are 3,000,000 acres on 
the entire Atlantic Coast that could be reclaimed. 
The cost of diking and draining these lands should 
not be over $50 per acre. A considerable area of 
salt marsh soils Has already been reclaimed. 

Salt marsh soils are particularly valuable for 
growing grass, onions, cabbage, celery; where 
they contain a large amount of muck cranberries 
are successful. 

THE PROBLEM OF ALKALI SOILS 

Between the Missouri River and the Rocky 
Mountains, in parts of California, and in a few 



66 SOILS 

other parts of the West, are large areas of alkali 
soils. They are found almost entirely in arid or 
semi-arid regions. These soils produce an insignifi- 
cant growth of a few native plants and are wholly 
unfit for cropping until properly treated. They are 
called alkali soils" because they contain large 
quantities of various salts, mostly common salt and 
carbonate of soda, which is ordinary washing soda. 
Otherwise they are normal. Thousands of acres of 
once valuable land have been made too alkaline for 
crops by seepage waters. The surface of alkali soils 
is often covered with crystals of the salts, making it 
look whitish. This is caused by the evaporation 
of water from the soil, leaving behind on the sur- 
face the salt that was dissolved in it. Over-irri- 
gation, especially on heavy lands, often makes them 
alkaline and may ruin them. But all soils that are 
white on the surface are not alkali. Excellent 
limestone soils have sometimes been mistaken for 
alkali, because they had a coating of carbonate of 
lime on the surface. Quite frequently there are 
alkali spots in an otherwise fertile field, the spots 
varying from several feet to several acres in extent. 

There are two common types of alkali soils, 
"black alkali" and "white alkali." The former 
contains chiefly carbonate of soda, which de- 
composes the humus in the soil and makes it very 
black; while the latter is a mixture of several salts, 
chiefly common salt and sulphate of soda. Black 
alkali is much more injurious to plants than white. 

The effect of alkali upon plants depends chiefly 
upon the kind of plant and upon the amount of 
salt in the first foot or two of soil. Some plants 
cannot stand alkali at all, some are tolerant of it, 
a very few prefer it. The plants that tolerate it 
are mostly native salt bushes and grasses. Of 



KINDS OF SOIL 67 

cultivated plants, sugar beets, alfalfa and sweet 
clover are most tolerant, especially sugar beets. 
The grains are impatient of it, but rye and barley 
appear to stand it better than the other cereals. 
Practically all the common farm crops will not 
thrive in alkali soils, but after the salts are removed 
from these soils they are found to be remarkably 
fertile and produce very large crops. 

How to Treat Alkali Soils. — There are two 
methods of improving alkali soils; the alkali may 
be removed, or it may be changed into another 
form. The most common and most efficient way 
of removing alkali, whenever non-alkaline water 
can be had in abundance, is to irrigate the land and 
drain it. If persisted in, irrigation and drainage 
usually effect a permanent cure. Irrigation washes 
the salt out of the soil and drainage carries it off. 
The waters of some streams and wells, however, 
contain much alkali and are not suitable for irri- 
gation. Irrigation without drainage may make 
a soil more alkaline, by bringing more of the salts 
to the surface. Under-drainage alone is usually ef- 
fective, especially for small areas that can be drained 
at slight expense, but it is too expensive to be prac- 
ticable except for land having a high valuation. 

In irrigating alkali land the entire surface of the 
soil should be flooded to remove the salts. 
In experiments by the Bureau of Soils in Utah a 
40-acre tract of waste land containing 2 1-2 per cent, 
of salt, or 6,650 tons to a depth of 4 feet, was flooded 
with 57 inches of water per year. Of this amount 
45 inches were recovered as drainage, and this 
drainage water contained 2,401 tons of salt. In 
other words one-third of the alkali was removed in 
one year. The cost of this work is from $16 to 
$30 per acre. 



68 SOILS 

The injurious salt may be changed into another 
material that is less harmful by dressing the soil 
with gypsum, or land plaster. An application of 
four to six hundred pounds per acre is considered 
sufficient. This treatment is valuable only for 
black alkali. When a quarter or more of the salt 
is on or near the surface, as is often the case, it is 
sometimes practicable to scrape the surface and 
cast the scrapings elsewhere. 

Certain plants, notably greasewood and the 
Australian Salt-bush, thrive on alkali soils and 
take large quantities of salts from them. Occa- 
sionally it is practicable to crop soils that are very 
alkaline with these plants for several years, to 
remove part of the salts. The plants should not 
be burned on the land, however; ashes of all kinds 
and especially these, make the soil more alkaline. 
A crop of Australian salt bushes produces 15 to 
20 tons of excellent green forage per acre, or 3 to 5 
tons of dry forage. This plant grows well upon 
black alkali. 

Some soils that are very badly alkaline may not 
be worth the attempt to reclaim; those that are 
only mildly alkaline it will certainly pay to reclaim, 
providing they possess the other requisites of a 
fertile soil. Usually it takes several years to com- 
pletely remove the objectionable salts, but if the 
soil is under-drained a fair crop can be grown upon 
it the second season. Deep plowing should be 
given to all soils that are more or less alkaline. 
Thorough tillage lessens the evaporation of water 
and hence lessens the amount of salt deposited upon 
the surface. Hilgard says, " When the alkali is not 
very abundant nor very noxious, frequent and 
deep tillage may afford all the relief needed. More 
than half the alkaline land in this state (California) 



KINDS OF SOIL 69 

that the people are afraid to touch requires no more 
remedy than thorough, deep tillage, maintained 
at all times." Liberal dressings of manure, espe- 
cially horse manure, are very beneficial. 

Alkali soils are apt to be deficient in nitrogen, 
because the nitrogen-fixing germs are not able to 
do their work when there is much alkali present. 
It is stated by Snyder that if a few loads of soil 
from fertile land are sprinkled on alkali spots the 
beneficial germs will be introduced and much good 
will result. After steps have been taken to remove 
the excess of salts the land should be cropped first 
with plants that are not very impatient of alkali. 
Oats is considered one of the best crops for this 
purpose. 

Practically all farm soils contain some alkali, 
but wherever rainfall is plentiful the salts are 
washed away before they accumulate suflSciently 
to injure plants. A very little alkali in a soil is 
beneficial. In fact, it is necessary to apply lime to 
some acid soils in order to make them sufficiently 
alkaline to be most productive, as is noted in 
Chapter XIV 

THE SUBSOIL 

The soil immediately beneath the richest part of 
the surface soil is called the subsoil. It may be of 
any depth, and extends to the underlying rock. 
The distinction between the soil and the subsoil, 
as the two names are commonly used, lies almost 
entirely in the colour and texture, due to the 
greater amount of humus near the surface. In 
cultivated land there is usually a niore or less dis- 
tinct line between the rich, black surface soil and 
the poorer and lighter-coloured subsoil. In most 



70 SOILS 

soils, especially in the East, this line marks the 
depth of plowing. The depth at which the vege- 
tation that gives the surface soil its black colour 
and looser texture has been buried is about nine 
inches. Many soils, especially those made by wind 
or built by water, and peat and muck soils, show 
very little if any difference in colour or texture be- 
tween the first nine inches of soil and that below. 

In nearly all cases the subsoil contains less 
available plant food than the soil above because it 
is not affected as much by weathering, being pro- 
tected, and because it is less affected by acids re- 
sulting from the decay of vegetation, since it con- 
tains less humus. We might call the subsoil 
rotting rock, and the soil rotted subsoil. This 
is a providential arrangement. If the plant food 
in all the soil, down to bed-rock, were as easy to lose 
as that in the first nine inches of soil our fields would 
become unproductive much sooner than they do 
now. The subsoil is a store of plant [food that is 
held in reserve. We should look upon the rocks, 
stones, pebbles and subsoil of our fields as so much po- 
tential plant food. It is being doled out to us from 
year to year as fast as it can be used to advantage. 

As the surface soil slowly wears away and is 
carried off in crops, the subsoil gradually becomes 
surface soil. The roots of deep-feeding plants, 
as clover and alfalfa, bring up plant food that they 
secure below the roots of ordinary crops. When 
these crops are cut, and the stubble and roots 
plowed under, a part of the plant food that the sub- 
soil has contributed to their growth is returned to 
the surface soil, enriching it. Earthworms bring 
to the surface subsoil that has never seen the light 
of day and this adds richness. A plowing some- 
what deeper than usual may mix an inch or more of 



KINDS OF SOIL 71 

light subsoil with the surface soil. This may re- 
duce the crop for a year or two, or until the raw 
plant food in the subsoil has been acted upon by 
air, water, and soil acids, but eventually the surface 
soil is enriched by the fresh material. 

It is advantageous for a sandy soil to rest upon an 
impervious clay subsoil, and for a clay soil to be 
underlaid with a sand or gravel subsoil; both sub- 
soils help to correct the defects of the soil above 
them. A deep gravel or sandy subsoil, however, 
is usually a disadvantage, as it allows plant food to 
leach down beyond the roots of plants. 

ANALYSING THE SOIL AT HOME 

The determination of the relative proportions 
of sand, silt, clay, and humus in a soil is called a 
"mechanical analysis," as compared with a "chem- 
ical analysis," in which the kinds and the amounts 
of the different plant foods are determined. It is 
not always possible to have the soil analysed 
by a chemist, but it is always practicable for a 
farmer to determine himself, roughly, the relative 
amounts of the four ingredients that his soil con- 
tains. A mechanical analysis should point out 
the deficiencies of the soil much better than simply 
viewing it on the surface. 

A close examination of a handful of the soil will 
reveal much concerning its composition, especially 
if a miscroscope or even a pocket lens is used. 
Note the colour, whether dark or light; look closely 
for the tiny black particles of humus that are likely 
to be the cause of the dark colour, and are a sign 
of good texture and large water-holding capacity. 
Rub the soil gently between the thumb and fore- 
finger to determine the size of the particles. Are 



72 SOILS 

they mostly coarse or fine? If the soil feels dis- 
tinctly gritty it probably contains a considerable 
amount of sand; if it feels quite smooth and makes 
a very smooth, sticky paste when water is added to 
it, it contains a large percentage of clay or silt. 
Take a handful of moist— not wet — soil and 
squeeze it hard. If the ball of soil crumbles 
quickly and freely when the pressure is removed 
the soil contains sufficient humus or sand and is 
likely to prove of good texture and easy to work. 
If, however, the ball of moist soil retains its shape 
to a considerable extent, remaining hard and 
compact, it indicates that clay and silt predom- 
inate and that the soil will need to be handled 
carefully. 

A more accurate test for clay, silt, sand and 
humus may be made in the following manner. 
Take a small sample of moist soil, as it is found in 
the field, say a quart; screen out all except fine par- 
ticles, and weigh it very carefully. Spread it thinly 
on a pan and set it in a very moderate oven or on the 
back of the stove, where it will dry slowly, but not 
burn. When it is perfectly dry weigh it again. 
The difference shows the amount of water that the 
soil contains, all of which has been driven off as 
vapour of water. 

Place this dry soil upon a coal-shovel above hot 
coals, or on a pan placed in a very hot oven. The 
humus in it will begin to smoke. If the soil is 
kept very hot for two or three hours practically all 
of the humus will burn, leaving only the "ash" 
or mineral part of the soil. A fairly reliable meas- 
ure of the amount of humus that the soil contains is 
secured by comparing the weights before and after 
burning. All soils that have a fair proportion of 
humus and are therefore most valuable for farming, 



KINDS OF SOIL 73 

should shrink considerably in bulk and in weight 
by burning. 

Separating the Sand, Silt and Clay. — After the 
humus is burned out of this soil the sand, silt and 
clay remain. These being pieces of rocks, or 
mineral matter, they will not burn like humus, 
which is vegetable matter. A simple way to 
separate the three ingredients is to put the soil into 
a tall, wide-mouthed bottle; one holding two 
quarts will answer, but a larger one is better. Fill 
this full of water and shake it violently until all the 
soil is mixed with water. Stand it on the table and 
watch the soil settle. If the soil contains coarse 
sand this will settle almost immediately, being 
largest and heaviest. Medium sand and fine sand 
will settle more slowly. Part of the silt and clay 
will remain suspended in the water for many hours. 
After several days, or when the water is clear, all 
the soil will be deposited in the bottom of the jar; 
the sands on the bottom, then silt, and clay on top. 
These ingredients may not be deposited in well- 
defined layers, because sand, silt and clay are ar- 
bitrary terms, used to designate soil grains of cer- 
tain abitrary sizes, for the sake of convenience in 
describing them. In some cases the sand may 
grade into the silt and the silt into clay impercep- 
tibly; in other cases ill-defined layers can be seen. 
In any case a close scrutiny of the way in which the 
soil settles and of its appearance after it settles will 
enable one to estimate roughly the proportions of 
sand, silt, and clay that it contains. 

It will pay a farmer to test the different types of 
soil on his farm in this way, and especially to test 
several different soils at the same time and com- 
pare them. The results of these simple experi- 
ments will bear out and emphasise field observa- 



74 SOILS 

tions on the agricultural value of these soils, or 
they may indicate a weakness where none is sus- 
pected. It is well to take a dozen or more samples 
of soil from different parts of a field in which the 
soil is all approximately similar, to mix them and to 
take from the combined lot the sample of soil that is 
tested. This makes it quite certain that the re- 
sults obtained represent the field fairly. 

The Bureau of Soils of the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture is making a "soil survey." 
The types of soils in all the important agricultural 
sections of the country are being studied. About 
100,000 square miles of land in different states 
have already been studied and reports issued. 
These reports should be very useful to the farmers 
in these sections. They may be obtained of the 
Division of Publications, Washington, D. C. 



CHAPTER IV 

SOIL WATER 

PROBABLY no other phase of modern farming, 
except the ever pressing problem of how to 
keep up thef ertihty of the soil, is now receiving 
more attention than the problem of how to maintain 
an adequate supply of soil water. The farmers of 
our vast arid regions, both in the irrigation and in 
the dry-farming sections, pay scarcely more atten- 
tion to it than the farmers in the states east of the 
Mississippi, where the rainfall is supposed to be 
sufficient for ordinary crops. 

It is frequently stated that the lack of sufficient 
water at the right time does more to reduce the 
yields of farm crops in the United States than the 
lack of available plant food. This does not refer 
particularly to the great droughts, which may 
reduce the corn crop of the whole Mississippi 
valley 50 per cent. ; nor even to the local droughts, 
which sere the meadows and shrivel the gardens 
in scattered localities. The greatest losses from 
lack of water are not from noticeable droughts, but 
from the unnoticed dryness which merely lessens 
the crops year after year, reducing the average and 
lowering the standard. There are a few restricted 
sections of the country where the problem of soil 
water is not pressing; but in most parts of the 
United States a paramount problem in crop 
production is how to supply moisture at the right 
time and in adequate quantity. If a man handles 
his soil in such a way that it is in the best condition 

75 



76 SOILS 

to receive and hold a limited rainfall, he has taken 
the most important step in solving the coordinate 
problem of how to maintain its fertility. 

THE AMOUNT OF WATER NEEDED BY PLANTS 

It takes a very large quantity of water to mature 
even an ordinary crop. Irrigation farmers appre- 
ciate this much more than farmers in humid re- 
gions, because they can see it in bulk. Ilellricgel 
has determined the amount of water necessary for 
the growth of average crops of the following plants: 
clover, 400 tons per acre; potatoes, 400 tons; 
wheat, 350 tons; oats, 375 tons; corn, 300 tons; 
grapes, 375 tons. This does not take into account 
water that is constantly being evaporated from the 
soil in which the crop is growing; it considers only 
the water used by the plants themselves. At the 
Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station it was found 
that the loss of water in growing a ton of clover hay, 
including what was used by the plants and what 
evaporated from the soil, was about 1560 tons, or 
enough to cover an acre 13.7 inches deep. The 
loss of water in growing one ton of air-dried corn 
fodder was 570 tons, or five inches per acre; of one 
ton of oats, 1200 tons of water, or 11 inches per 
acre; of 200 bushels of potatoes, 582 tons of water, 
or 5.6 inches per acre. The loss of water in grow- 
ing one acre of pasturage was 3223 tons, which is 
equivalent to a rainfall of 28 inches per acre. These 
interesting figures emphasise what every good 
farmer already knows: that an abundant supply 
of water is even more essential to a large crop than 
an abundance of plant food, and that some crops 
make larger demands upon the soil reservoir than 
others. 



SOIL WATER 77 

How Plants Drink. — It is not easy to see 
how it can take from 200 to 375 pounds 
of water to make one pound of dry plants 
unless one knows something of the way in 
which plants drink. Only a small amount 
of this water becomes a part of the structure 
of the plant. Some plants are very succulent; 
94 per cent, of the strawberry fruit is sweet- 
ened water, 90 per cent, of the entire corn plant 
is water, and 80 per cent, of the entire potato 
plant is water. 

Even if the crop were 99 per cent, water 
this would account for only a small portion 
of the amount that is actually lost from the 
soil during its growth. Most of this enormous 
amount of water is lost by evaporation through 
the leaves. Contrary to the old notion, plants 
do not feed by sucking up tiny particles 
of soil. The plant food in the soil is first 
dissolved in soil water, as salt dissolves in 
water; this is then drawn up through the 
roots by a peculiar process of absor[)tion called 
"osmosis." The soil water drawn up by the 
roots contains very little plant food; it is so 
weak that we consider it pure water, and 
we drink it as it comes from tile drains or 
wells. Therefore the plant has to draw up 
a very large quantity of water in order to get 
sufficient food. 

After the plant has used the food in this very 
weak fertiliser solution, the pure water is exhaled 
through the pores of the leaves. Put a geranium, 
or other potted plant, under a glass jar and note 
how soon the inside of the jar becomes clouded 
with the moisture given off by the leaves. The 
soil in the pot may be covered with oil-cloth or 



78 SOILS 

coated with hot wax to prevent evaporation from it. 
A plant, then, is a pump; there is a cloud of in- 
visible water vapour rising from every grass blade 
and every cotton leaf. The value of some plants 
as pumps compares quite favourably with the 
pumps we buy. Eucalyptus trees are sometimes 
used for draining malarial swamps; willows 
planted at the mouth of the sink drain keep the 
soil from getting soggy. 

RAINFALL INSUFFICIENT OR UNEVENLY 
DISTRIBUTED 

With these figures on the actual amount of water 
that a soil may lose in producing certain crops, and 
with this explanation of where so much of it goes, 
the farmer may now get from the nearest Weather 
Bureau a statement of the average amount of water 
that falls upon his soil each year or he may consult 
the general rainfall map on another page. Then 
compare the two sets of figures. At first sight, it 
may look as though there ought to be no difficulty 
in watering the crop; the rainfall may be thirty 
inches and the crop may use but thirteen. But 
how much of this rainfall comes during the months 
when the crop is growing ? How much of the rain- 
fall previous to the planting of the crop can be 
saved in the soil ? These two questions must be 
answered. The weather man will answer the 
first; only the farmer can answer the second, 
for it depends entirely upon the kind of 
soil he cultivates and upon the way he 
handles it. 

A comparison between the average rainfall dur- 
ing the growing season, say from April 1st to Sep- 
tember 15th, and the amount of water needed by 



SOIL WATER 79 

the crop, may reveal an interesting situation. It 
may show, for instance, that the rainfall in those 
months is equal to or greater than the water used 
in producing the crop. This would be all right 
were it not for two facts; quite frequently there 
are years that fall much below the average in sum- 
mer rainfall, perhaps considerably below the 
amount needed by the crop; it is the average of 
wet years and dry years that gives the "normal" 
rainfall. Then, again, not all the rain that 
falls becomes available for plant growth. 
Some of it runs off as surface water and 
fills the creek; some of it passes down through 
the soil; some of it evaporates. Very often 
not half of the summer rainfall can be utilised 
by crops. 

The comparison of figures may show that the 
total amount of water that falls during the growing 
season is only about one-third as much as the crop 
needs. In nearly all sections of the country the 
situation is that not enough rain falls during the 
growing season to water the crops after that lost 
by surface drainage, evaporation and seepage is 
deducted. The total rainfall may be adequate, but 
it is unevenly distributed. The problem, then, is 
to store the abundant rains of winter and early 
spring against the dryness of summer; this is one 
of the most important problems in farming. The 
water may be stored in reservoirs and used for 
irrigation or it may be stored in the soil itself; 
the former is a Western, the latter an Eastern 
method. Soil storage is more common and re- 
quires more skill. The man who has learned 
to store water in the soil effectively ha^^ 
mastered one of the most important problems in 
crop husbandry. 



80 SOILS 

CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT SOILS TO HOLD WATER 

The different forms in which water is found in 
the soil have been mentioned in Chapter 
II. The water .that is most valuable to 
the plant is that which is held by the 
grains as film moisture, although a large 
part of this may be drawn from the reser- 
voir of free or standing water below. Soils 
vary widely in their ability to hold film 
water. In judging the value of a piece of 
land for cropping, it is fully as important to 
consider its water-holding capacity as its rich- 
ness in plant food; a soil may be exceedingly 
rich in the essential plant foods, yet if it does 
not hold enough water to dissolve that food 
and carry it to the plants, it will produce no 
more than a very poor soil. Fertility consists as 
much in an abundance of soil water as in an 
abundance of plant food. 

The capacity of a soil to hold water depends 
upon its composition and upon its texture. 
The lighter a soil is, or the more sand it 
contains, the less water it will hold. The 
smaller the grains, the more water the soil 
holds, since there is more surface for it to 
cling to and less likelihood that it will leach 
through. Each soil grain is surrounded by a 
film of moisture ; if there are over 168,000,- 
000,000 grains in an ounce of soil, as in some 
alluvial soils, the amount of surface for the 
water to cling to is much greater than if there are 
but 56,000,000,000 grains in an ounce, as in some 
truck soils. The more humus a soil contains the 
greater is its water-holding capacity, for humus is 
vegetable sponge. If small quantities of several 



SOIL WATER 81 

kinds of soil are completely dried in an oven, 
and water is then added to them, it will be 
found that they will hold about the following 
amounts : 

Sharp sand 25% 

Clay soil (60% clay) 40% 

Heavy clay (80% clay) 61% 

Loam 51% 

Garden mould 89% 

Humus 181% 

The same soils do not hold as much water as 
this in the field, because a large part of it drains 
off, as it must in order to make the soil congenial 
for plants. It is far more important to know how 
much water a soil will hold under its natural con- 
ditions in the field, after the excess water that fills 
the spaces has drained away and only film moisture 
remains. The amount of film water held by dif- 
ferent soils is about as follows: A coarse sand 
holds but 12 to 15 per cent, by weight of film 
moisture; a sandy loam from 20 to 30 per cent.; 
a clay loam from 30 to 40 per cent. ; a heavy clay, 
or a soil very rich in humus, may hold 40 to 50 per 
cent, of film moisture. This means that a mellow 
loam with a retentive subsoil holds four to five 
inches of water in the first foot of soil. 

Although a sandy soil holds less water than a 
clayey soil this disadvantage is partially offset 
by the fact that the lighter soils give up to the 
plants a larger percentage of the water they do 
contain than the heavier and wetter soils. A 
light soil may hold 30 per cent, of water and a heavy 
soil 55 per cent., yet the lighter soil may give nearly 
three-fourths of its water to the crop while the 
plants could secure scarcely one-half of the water 
held by the heavy soil. 



82 SOILS 

Influence of Subsoil on the Water-holding Ca- 
pacity of Soils. — The amount of water held by a 
soil depends not only upon the character of the 
upper two or three feet of surface soil, in which the 
roots of most farm plants chiefly feed, but also upon 
the character of the subsoil and upon the distance 
to the water table. Some subsoils are retentive, 
others are leachy. A layer of gravel or sand three 
or four feet below the surface may provide perfect 
natural drainage, thereby increasing the amount of 
film water that the upper soil can hold. A hard- 
pan of impervious clay, or of rock close to the sur- 
face, will greatly reduce the water-holding capacity 
of the soil, strange as it may seem. One might 
think that if the water could pass down only three 
or four feet before it strikes hardpan, the soil 
above would be wetter than if the water could pass 
down through many feet of soil. But the fact is 
that the shallow soils are dry est; because, in times 
of abundant rains, the water soon fills the soil, and 
then flows off as surface drainage; whereas it 
sinks down into the deep soil for many feet and is 
stored there for the future use of the crop. The 
first five feet of a strong loam may contain enough 
water to make a layer ten to twenty inches deep 
over the field. 

Height of Water Table. — The distance below the 
surface at which free water is found has an im- 
portant influence on the amount of film water held 
by the soil above it. Generally speaking the nearer 
the water table is to the area in which the roots of 
cultivated plants forage, the larger will be the 
amount of film water held by this soil; for a large 
part of this film water is drawn directly from the 
free water, and the nearer this is, the more abun- 
dant and equable will be the supply. The roots 



SOIL WATER 83 

of most cultivated crops rarely go more than five 
feet deep, hence a soil in which the water table is 
from four to six feet below the surface is apt to be 
most abundantly supplied with film water. When 
wet land is tile drained, the level of the water table 
is reduced from four to six feet deep, depending 
upon the depth at which the drains are laid below 
the surface. The chief reason why wet lands are 
so valuable after being under-drained is that the 
water table is lowered only to the point where it can 
most easily supply the soil above with film moisture; 
while in lands that need no under-drainage the 
water table may be thirty feet deep instead of six. 

HOW TO INCREASE THE WATER-HOLDING CAPACITY 

OF SOILS 

Fortunately for the farmer he can do much to in- 
crease the amount of film water that some soils can 
hold, and thereby increase their productiveness. The 
farmer who irrigates should be interested in the sub- 
ject as much as the farmer who depends upon natural 
rainfall to supply his crops with water; it is tedious 
and expensive to irrigate frequently, and he should 
know how to increase the capacity of his soil to hold 
water so that fewer irrigations will be needed. 

Under-drainage is the most efficient means of im- 
proving a soil in which the water table is always so 
close to the surface that the soil is too wet for farm 
crops; or which is very wet in winter and very dry 
in summer. Deep plowing, harrowing, cultivating 
and other tillage operations also do much to deepen 
the soil and enlarge the reservoir, because the more 
a soil is pulverised the more water it will hold. 
The addition of humus to a soil in the form of farm 
manure, muck or a green manure, has a very 



84 SOILS 

marked influence on its ability to hold water. Fur- 
thermore, if the surface of the soil is softened, rains 
sink into it better. Fall plowing will leave the soil 
loose so that it will ■ absorb the winter rains : if 
the surface is hard and compact, much of the water 
runs off. All of these operations are so funda- 
mental to successful farming that each one is dis- 
cussed at length in subsequent chapters. 

Influence of Forests on Water Supply. — The 
influence of forests upon the water supply should 
not be overlooked. When forests near streams 
are removed, the soil of the adjoining farm land is 
made dryer, and there is increased danger of floods. 
The large body of humus beneath forest trees holds 
an immense amount of water, like a sponge — nearly 
twice as much as its own weight when dry. In 
times of drought, this water is given off gradually to 
adjoining dryer land. Moreover, the air near large 
forests contains more moisture than the air of 
cleared areas because the trees give off large 
quantities of water through their leaves: hence 
farm soils in deforested areas lose water more 
rapidly, because the air above them is dryer. There 
are thousands of acres of land in this country which 
have been cleared of timber to use for farming, 
but which are nearly valueless for that purpose 
and should revert to forest; to say nothing of the 
wholesale destruction of forests for timber alone. 
Policy, as well as sentiment, should induce every 
man to [leave as much of his farm in woodland 
as is practicable. 

LOSS OF WATER BY SEEPAGE 

The free water of all soils is continually passing 
downward in obedience to the law of gravitation. 



SOIL WATER 85 

Near the surface it seeps down slowly, but as it 
goes deeper it gathers volume and power. If the 
soil is shallow, it soon strikes hardpan and over- 
flows as surface drainage. If the soil is deep, it 
may sink down many hundreds of feet until it 
comes to some kind of a check or channel; per- 
haps a stratum of rock, perhaps a layer of coarse 
gravel. Down this it passes, joining forces with 
other underground currents, as the rill joins the 
brook and the brook joins the creek. This channel 
may lead it many miles away to where the stratum of 
rock or gravel comes to the surface. Then it 
gushes forth as a spring near the base of some hill, 
or on the bottom of some lake. Or it may not come 
to the surface but seek a lower level and there 
seep upward through the soil because of the pres- 
sure of other water behind it. Just as surface water 
flows down hillsides and collects in valleys, so 
underground water may sink through the soil of the 
mountain, hill, knoll or ridge, until it reaches the 
levels, where it may be pushed up towards the 
surface again by the pressure of water behind 
it. Many thousands of acres of farm lands are 
thus sub-irrigated, or watered from below, by 
water that has seeped down from higher land, 
perhaps many miles away. When drained, these 
soils become very productive, not only because 
of the equable supply of water that they 
receive from below, but also because this 
water, having perhaps travelled a long dis- 
tance in seeking its level, has dissolved much 
plant food from the soil through which it has 
passed. 

Loss of Plant Food in Seepage Water. — This 
latter phase of the seepage of soil water has a very 
important bearing upon the fertility of the land. 



86 SOILS 

The water in the soil, both free and film, is not pure 
but has in it various salts and elements that it has 
dissolved from the soil. Some of these are plant 
foods. The nitrates, containing that most ex- 
pensive of plant foods, nitrogen, are most likely to 
be carried off in this way; also the phosphates and 
the potash salts to some extent. Most any kind 
of farm plant will grow very well in the water 
caught from a drain tile, and nothing else, showing 
that this water contains as much plant food as 
that which the plants in the soil draw up through 
their roots. 

The coarser a soil is, and the less humus it con- 
tains, the less able is it to retain the rain that falls 
upon it. It takes longer for water to seep down 
through clay soils, in which the spaces between 
the particles are very small, than through a sandy 
soil, in which the spaces between the grains are 
much larger. This is why sandy soils are leachy. 
The loss of water from clayey soils, through seep- 
age, is much facilitated by the burrows of earth- 
worms and the decay of roots, both of which open 
channels; also, to a considerable extent, by the 
numerous cracks that appear in all clay soils as 
they dry. These cracks are often very large on 
the surface; smaller though less numerous cracks 
are found for several feet below. 

With the exception of very sandy soils, the loss 
of water by seepage is not likely to occur during the 
growing season. In most parts of the country the 
upper soil becomes so dry during the summer that 
the summer rainfall is mostly taken up or evapo- 
rated before it is lost by seepnge. It is during the 
season when vegetation is dormant or inactive, 
which is usually when the precipitation is largest, 
that the loss of water ])y seepage, and the loss of 



SOIL WATER 87 

the plant food dissolved in this water, is likely to 
be largest. 

The loss of soil water by seepage can be prevented, 
in part, by judicious farm practice. If a leachy 
soil is filled with humus, either from manure or 
from decaying vegetation, the large spaces between 
the grains are clogged and water sinks through the 
soil less rapidly. An open, porous soil may also 
be compacted by rolling, which reduces the size 
of the spaces by crushing the grains together. 
Liming a sandy soil may have a slight effect in the 
same direction. If the soil is not left bare during 
the winter when a crop is not growing upon it, but is 
kept covered with a catch crop, as rye, the roots and 
herbage of this crop hold much of the water that 
otherwise would be lost. These operations are 
discussed at length in succeeding chapters. 

THE MOVEMENT OF FILM WATER 

In Chapter II it was stated that by far the most 
important kind of water in the soil is that which 
surrounds the soil grains like a film; because it is 
this, not free water, which the roots of plants use. 
This water is held to the surface of the soil grains by 
tension or adhesion, as a film of water adheres to 
a pebble dipped into the brook. There is also 
more or less water in the spaces between the grains. 
These films of water are not all of the same thick- 
ness. Some grains have more water on them than 
others; therefore parts of the soil are dryer than 
others. The dryness of some parts of the soil may 
be due to the fact that they have received less water 
from rainfall. It may also be caused by the roots 
of thirsty plants. 

The movement of film water takes place in this 



88 SOILS 

way: The minute root hairs are always absorbing 
water, together with the plant food that is dissolved 
in it; not free water, but the film water clinging to 
the grains of soil. The soil grains which thus pay 
tribute to the plants become dry. But they touch 
grains that are not in direct contact with the plant 
pump; part of the film moisture clinging to these 
IS passed along to the dry grains, so that both be- 
come equally moist. Now the grains a little further 
off have more moisture than these which have given 
a part of theirs to the dry grains in the grasp of the 
root hairs. These, likewise, give of their abun- 
dance to the soil grains less favoured. So it comes 
about that there is always a steady current of film 
water passing to every root hair of every thirsty, 
growing plant; not flowing through the soil, but 
creeping from particle to particle, and space to 
space. 

In exactly the same way there is always a cur- 
rent of film water passing upward on every 
summer day to replace the water that the upper- 
most soil grains have lost by evaporation. The 
amount of water lost from common farm soils 
by evaporation may be as much as five inches a 
month during the summer. There must be in- 
equalities in the dryness of the soil that are due 
to other causes, as difference in texture or com- 
position; but for the most part we may think of 
this great volume of film water, equal to a layer 
of water over fifteen inches deep in the first five 
feet of some soils, as settling strongly in two currents 
— toward the surface, to replace the loss of water 
by evaporation, and toward the roots of plants. 
These invisible currents are not affected by the 
law of gravitation; they travel up, down, or sidewise 
in the endeavour to make the soil equally moist 



SOIL WATER 89 

throughout its bulk. But this result is never 
brought to pass; it is prevented by the frequent 
downward passage of water, constant evaporation 
from the surface and continued absorption by 
roots. 

We are not concerned about checking the current 
of film moisture toward the roots, except to in- 
crease it. Usually the larger the loss of film water 
in this way, the greater the gain to the farmer. 
But we are neatly concerned about the current 
of film water that is passing upward to the surface 
of the soil and is then lost in the air as water vapour. 
We cannot afford to lose this water; and we can- 
not afford to lose, even temporarily, the plant food 
that is dissolved in it. When the water evaporates, 
this is left upon the surface of the soil where it is 
useless to plants, until washed down into the root- 
feeding area. We would rather have the water 
evaporate, not from the soil, but through the leaves 
of crops, after it has given to the plants the food 
that it contains. 

The sun is the mightiest of pumps. The 
amount of water that is evaporated from the soil in 
one summer day is astonishing even to those who 
have observed how quickly the soil becomes dry 
in midsummer after a heavy rain. King found 
that each square foot of an ordinary farm soil 
lost 1.3 pounds of water daily by evaporation 
from the surface. 

Capillary Action. — The movement of film water 
in the soil is frequently called "capillary action." 
The soil being made of millions of tiny grains, 
there are likewise millions of tiny spaces between 
the grains, as in a pile of wheat; so it follows that 
there is a more or less continuous passage from one 
space to another, making many small and very 



90 SOILS 

crooked tubes — hence the term "capillary," hair- 
Hke. Fihn water passes up, down and sidewise 
through tliese tubes, but mostly upward, for there 
is where the soil is most likely to become dry. For 
the purpose of illustration, then, we may conceive 
that every farm soil is permeated with very fine 
hair-like tubes which reach deep into the subsoil; 
that it is, we will say, something like a bundle of 
wheat straw. The lower ends of the tubes rest 
U})on the water table — which may be two, six or 
thirty feet below the surface, according to the depth 
at which free water is found. The upper ends of 
the tubes open upon the surface. Water is drawn 
up through these tubes, from the water table to the 
surface, by a kind of suction called "ca})illary ac- 
tion." Capillary action is something like the pro- 
cess by which oil is drawn up through a wick; the 
flame that burns the oil is like the sun that 
evaporates the water; as oil creeps up through the 
strands of the wick, so soil water creeps up through 
tiny j)ores of the soil. Whenever the sun is hot, or 
a (Irying wind hugs the ground, water is drawn up 
through these tubes. In reality the tubes are as 
crooked and irregular as the holes in a piece of 
cheese, yet the principle and the results are the 
same. 

How to Prevent the Loss oj Film Water. — How 
can this great loss of water — sometimes amounting 
to over one and one-half inches of rain in a single 
week — be checked ? Obviously there is but one 
way to do it — by stopping the mouths of the tubes. 
One need not travel far to find illustrations of how 
this may be done. Turn over a board or stone 
lying on the ground; the soil beneath is more 
inoist than the adjacent soil; the pores of the 
earth have been closed, and the current of water 



SOIL WATER 91 

passinoj upward has been stopped. That is why 
fishermen Imnt for earthworms beneath stones, 
when the weather is very dry. A layer of small 
flat rocks scattered over the surface of the ground 
would prevent a large part of the film water from 
escaping, were it practicable. The woodpile 
offers another illustration, for the soil is always 
moist beneath the layer of chips, showing that evap- 
oration has been checked. But a layer of straw 
does just as well and is easier to a})ply. 

Any material that is spread uj^on the soil to stop 
up the mouths of the water tubes and shade the 
surface from the sun, thus preventing the loss of 
soil water, is called a mulch. The most effective 
and practicable mulches are coarse hay, straw, and 
farm manures; not only because they are easy to 
apply, but also because they benefit the soil in other 
ways, chiefly through the humus that they add. 
Occasionally other materials are used to mulch the 
soil, as leaves, straw waste, coal ashes, sea-weed. 
Mulching to save soil water is rarely practised in 
growing common farm crops. Small fruits, espe- 
cially the strawberry, currant and gooseberry and 
also, to a slight extent, the tree fruits, are frequently 
mulched with these materials. 

The Soil Mulch. — The most practicable mulch 
in general farming is made of loose, dry soil. This 
is obtained by stirring the surface of the soil with 
the implements of tillage, as the plow, harrow and 
cultivator. Stirring the soil makes it much looser. 
The pores are broken. Water can creep from one 
soil grain to another only when the grains are close 
together — when the soil is compact. Stirring the 
soil spreads the grains so far apart that water can- 
not pass from one grain to another, or but very 
slowly. So it comes no further than the mouths 



92 SOILS 

of the tubes, which are now not on the surface but 
eight inches, six inches or three inches below the 
surface, according to the depth to which the soil 
has been loosened. The practical application of 
this fact, and other benefits of tillage, are fully 
described in Chapter V. 

THE WATER-MOVING ABILITY OF DIFFERENT SOILS 

Since soils are so variable in composition and in 
texture they naturally vary a great deal in their 
"capillarity," or their ability to move film water. 
This point is worth considering when selecting a 
farm; a soil through which water moves slowly is 
not apt to be very productive. The coarser a soil 
is, the less water it can draw up. Fill one lamp 
chimney with coarse sand and another with clay 
loam, both packed hard. Set both of them 
in a pan of water and note the difference in 
the amount of water that they draw up and the 
time it takes them to do it. For a while water will 
rise rapidly through sand, but it will not be drawn 
very high, because the spaces or tubes are so large. 
In the finer soils, especially those containing some 
clay, water rises more slowly, but it is drawn up 
very much farther. Humus increases the water- 
drawing power of a soil. 

The importance of securing a soil with high 
capillary power lies in the relation this has to the 
water supply of crops. Film water, on which 
plants feed, is drawn largely from the reservoir 
of free water below. It is important that a soil be 
able to draw water freely and rapidly in order to 
keep the roots constantly bathed in the life giving 
fluid. A large crop makes a tremendous drain 
upon the water in the upper part of the soil during 



SOIL WATER 93 

a single day. If the sun is very hot, the amount of 
water lost by evaporation is large; even thorough 
tillage cannot entirely prevent the escape of water. 
This means that the supply of film water in the 
surface soil must be quickly replenished from be- 
low, else the plants will suiter. 

In some soils the water table is many feet 
below the soil in which the roots of plants 
feed; in such cases there is especial need 
that the water be able to move rapidly through 
the soil. Very sandy soils not only do not hold 
much water, but also have little power to transport 
it by capillary action. Very stiff clay soils, on the 
other hand, while they hold a large amount of 
water, regain water very slowly after having be- 
come dry, so that they frequently suffer much in a 
drought. When a clay soil dries it shrinks, and 
cracks appear not merely on the surface, but also to 
a depth of several feet. These cracks let in air 
which still further dries the soil ; the roots of plants 
may also be torn apart and exposed. All kinds 
of loams have excellent water-carrying power; 
this fact, together with their mellowness and fer- 
tility, makes them among the most valuable of 
farm soils. 

How to Test the Water-holding Capacity of 
Farm Soils. — The points that have been brought 
out in the preceding paragraphs will be made 
more concrete to the reader if he will try a few 
simple experiments. Get a quart each of stiff clay, 
sand, and the black, spongy humus beneath 
forest trees. Put the three samples into a slow 
oven and dry them for two or three hours, or until 
they appear perfectly dry. Stand three lamp 
chimneys in pans and fill one with the dry humus, 
one with the dry sand and one with the dry clay. 



94 SOILS 

Pack each very tightly. Fill three quart jars with 
water and pour water slowly from one of them into 
the top of the chimney of humus; water the chim- 
neys of sand and clay likewise from the other two 
jars. Pour in only a very little water at a time so 
as to allow it to settle slowly and wet all the soil 
thoroughly. Stop pouring water when the soil is 
wet to the bottom, and water begins to seep from 
the bottom of the chimney. Note first, how 
quickly water passes through sand and how little 
water it holds — it is leachy. Observe that the 
humus also absorbs the water quite readily, but 
holds much more of it. The clay takes up the 
water very slowly but holds a large quantity of it. 
The water left in each of the three jars shows the 
relative water-holding capacity of the soils. 

The chimneys of soil represent actual conditions 
in the field ; the water held by the soil in the chim- 
neys is film or capillary water, while the water that 
seeps out at the bottom of the chimney is free or 
standing water. The same results may be secured 
in another way by filling several flower pots 
with different soils and drying them in an oven. 
After weighing each pot of soil separately, add 
water to it very slowly until it seeps out at the 
bottom. Set the pots away to dram. When no 
more water seeps out, weigh them again. The 
difference in weight is the amount of film water 
that the soil can hold. 

The several types of soil on the farm may now 
be tested in the same way. Compare the water- 
holding capacity of a sandy loam with a clay 
loam. If you have a stiff clay soil, fill one chimney 
with this, another with a sample of the same soil 
which has had some humus mixed with it, and a 
third chimney with another sample of the same 



SOIL WATER 95 

soil which has had some sand mixed with it. A 
comparison of these three samples should point 
a profitable lesson. If you have a very sandy soil 
find the influence of adding humus to it in like 
manner. If accurate measurements are desired, 
weigh the dry soil and the same soil after it is 
thoroughly saturated. A good soil should be able 
to absorb at least one-half its own weight of water ; 
humus often holds almost twice its own weight of 
water, and sand from 15 to 25 per cent. 

Testing the Water-moving Ability of Soils. — The 
ability of a soil to move water by capillary action, 
and to draw upon the free water to supply the 
needs of plants, may be determined with a fair 
degree of accuracy in the following manner. Take 
chimneys of fire-dried and well-packed clay, sand 
and humus, as in the previous test, and stand 
them in a pan. Cover the bottom of the 
pan with half an inch of water. Note the water 
creep up into the chimney by capillary attraction. 
It rises very rapidly in the sand at first, but is carried 
only three or four inches high and then stops — 
the spaces between the grains are too large for it to 
be drawn higher. Humus takes the water up more 
slowly but eventually the soil at the top of the 
chimney is wet with the film water drawn up from 
below. The clay absorbs water even more slowly 
than humus, but the surface soil of the chimney of 
clay is wet in a few hours. Now test in a similar 
manner the farm soils which you have to handle. 
See what effect mixing a little sand or humus with 
the clay has upon its water-drawing power, and 
what influence mixing a little humus with the 
sand has upon its capillary power. Compare 
the capillary power of sand when it is put into 
the chimney loosely, and when it is packed 



96 SOILS 

into the chimney very firmly; it may suggest the 
value of rolling. 

The chimney of soil is a field in miniature; all 
fertile soils draw up water from the water table by 
capillary action, as these samples of soil draw up 
water from the pan. One of the most important 
functions of the soil is here exemplified. Some- 
times simple experiments like these show in tang- 
ible, concrete form, the results that may be expected 
from a farm practice that must be extended over a 
number of years in order to achieve these same 
results in the field. 



CHAPTER V 

THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 

TILLAGE — stirring the soil — is the simplest 
and commonest operation on the farm. Pos- 
sibly this is why it is understood the least. 
There are a hundred farmers who can explain per- 
fectly the theory of a balanced ration to a dozen who 
know all the benefits of the ordinary soil-stirring 
that occupies their time more than any other 
farm practice. This is largely due to the fact that 
there are two perfectly obvious benefits of tillage 
— the ground must first be stirred to make a mellow 
seed bed, and it must be stirred to kill the weeds 
that dispute with the crops for possession of the 
land. The necessity for stirring the soil to ac- 
complish these ends is so apparent that many have 
looked no further for the benefits of tillage than 
those that appear on the surface. 

The Present Emphasis on Good Tillage. — During 
the past twenty-five years there has been a marked 
change in the attitude of farmers toward tillage. 
Probably no other farm operation has advanced 
farther in the quarter century, not only in a better 
understanding of its purpose, but also in the eflfi- 
ciency with which it is performed. During the last 
quarter of the ninteenth century emphasis was 
placed most emphatically on tillage — "good tillage,'* 
"thorough tillage," "better tillage," and similar 
captions were the subjects for more articles in 
farm papers and more talks at farmers' institutes 
than any other operation of farming. The results 

97 



98 SOILS 

of this campaign, or "tillage era," as it has 
been called, are seen everywhere in better crops 
and more fertile fields. Just now we seem to be 
passing through a "humus era" in our agricultural 
development. The • benefits of green manuring 
and cover crops are being heralded far and wide — 
perhaps over-emphasised a bit — as the benefits of 
tillage may have been overstated; for humus, as 
well as tillage, is only one of many factors that enter 
into the profitable production of crops. It is well, 
however, that each of the important points in 
good farming is before us so prominently for a 
time; it brings them to the attention of men who 
would not consider them so carefully were they not 
stated so emphatically and discussed so exclusively. 

TILLAGE TO PREPARE THE SEED BED 

The primary object of stirring the soil is to pre- 
pare it to receive the crop and to eliminate com- 
petition with other plants. In the wild, seeds are 
sown on untilled land and very few find a congenial 
seed bed and grow into lusty specimens of their 
kind. They may find the soil upon which they 
fall hard, cold and unresponsive, or already pre- 
empted by other plants of the same or other kinds. 
Even if the seeds germinate they at once engage 
in a life struggle with their neighbours for food, 
water, sunshine, a struggle that is relentless and 
inexorable. A very few plants, favoured by some 
accident in position, get a start over the others and 
slowly choke them to death, or keep them in wan 
and feeble subjection. Nature is satisfied, appar- 
ently, with small returns for her prodigal seed sow- 
ing; if one seed in a thousand brings forth fruit unto 
the harvest she is satisfied. 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 99 

Man requires a larger increase. It is in his 
power to secure it in two ways; he can make the 
condition of the soil favourable for the germination 
of the seeds and the growth of the plants, and he 
can prevent competition by isolating his plants. 
All of these conditions are secured by tillage. The 
plow buries wild plants and loosens and deepens 
the soil ; the harrow makes it mellow to receive the 
seed; the cultivator kills the weeds that would 
dispute with the crop for possession of the land. 
Simple as these statements are, they are funda- 
mental truths. 

An Improvement on Nature.— The farmer whose 
land yields the most increase is the one who im- 
proves upon Nature the most, in sowing seeds and 
in growing plants. He sows seed, not in Nature's 
haphazard way, wherever the wind blows, on good 
soil or poor, but only upon soil that is congenial 
for that plant and that has been specially pre- 
pared to receive it. He grows plants alone, not 
in a hand to hand struggle with other plants that 
he does not want. In fact, a man's success in 
farming is measured largely by his ability to re- 
move from his plants the uncertainties and the 
competition that these plants would have to face 
were they growing in the wild. This result is 
accomplished largely by tillage. 

Good tillage is especially needed in making the 
seed bed. The farmer who does the most harrow- 
ing is usually rewarded at harvest time far beyond 
the value of the time spent. All seeds need a 
mellow soil, a warm soil and a well ventilated soi' 
in order to germinate quickly and grow fast. Plow- 
ing and harrowing make the soil finer and secure 
these conditions; and the degree of mellowness, 
warmth, and aeration it has is governed very largely 



100 SOILS 

by the thoroughness with which the land is fitted. 
It is one of the common remarks at farmers' insti- 
tutes that too little attention is paid to the *' tillage 
of preparation," as it is sometimes called; that 
farmers content themselves with plowing and then 
harrowing the soil once or twice before seeding, 
when perhaps three or four harrowings and one or 
two turns with the clod crusher would have paid. 
Seeds will not germinate readily if they are placed 
between three or four large lumps of soil. No 
matter how moist the lumps are, the seeds dry out 
fast because they do not touch the soil on all sides. 
If the lumps are broken into fine soil and the seeds 
are planted in this, they have an even and constant 
supply of water. It is as impracticable and un- 
profitable to sow seeds upon lumps as to spread 
fertiliser upon lumps. 

The number of times that it will pay to harrow 
when fitting a seed bed depends entirely upon its 
texture; a sandy loam soil may be as mellow and 
friable after one turn around the field as a clay 
loam is after three turns. Moreover it is impossible 
to make some soils mellow, even with a dozen 
harrowings. The trouble lies deeper — it may be 
lack of humus or poor drainage, which must be 
corrected in other ways. But up to a certain 
point tillage does fine, loosen, drain, aerate, and 
warm the soil and fit it for growing a profitable 
crop. Some soils respond to this tillage of prep- 
aration better than others; a good farmer soon 
finds out, by experimenting and observing, how 
thoroughly it pays to fit his land. He may 
be surprised to find that one or two extra 
turns with the harrow will pay him much more 
when harvest time comes than the cost of the 
labour. 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 101 

TILLAGE TO KILL WEEDS 

The second object of tilling — that of kilHng 
weeds — is forced upon the attention of the farmer 
with back-breaking and sweat-rolHng regularity. 
A weed is a plant that is not wanted — whether it 
is a Canada thistle in the pasture, a daisy in the 
meadow, quack-grass in the corn or "pusley" in 
the garden. The plant may be innocent enough 
in itself, and may sometimes even be grown as a 
crop, as when sand vetch sown this year for hay 
comes up next year in the corn planted on the same 
land. A weed is a plant out of place, accord- 
ing to man's scheme, so he becomes its bitter 
enemy. 

The Tirade Against Weeds. — -From the amount 
of wordy abuse that weeds have to stand 
from man one would think that they are 
free moral agents and capable of choosing be- 
tween the already overcrowded wildwood, where 
they would have to fight for a living, and the in- 
viting farm lands where the soil has been made 
soft and comfortable. If one were to ask a 
thousand farmers in this country, "What is the 
greatest trouble you have in farming ? " the com- 
plaint that would rise most readily to the lips of 
nine hundred of them would be *'I could get along 
all right if it was not for those pesky weeds." 
Weed recipes, purporting to be short cuts to the 
extermination of this torment, are offered by the 
score. Many bulletins and several books on weeds 
keep constantly before him the danger of relaxing 
watchfulness against the great pest. It would al- 
most seem, from all that is said about and against 
weeds, that if only those plants that we put into the 
soil could grow, and no others, the chief impediment 



102 SOILS 

to the farmer's prosperity would be removed and 
he could take a half holiday six times a week. 

Friendly Words for Weeds. — In recent years there 
has grown up an entirely different attitude toward 
weeds on the part of some people. We are told that 
weeds are a great blessing, not a curse. The reason 
given is that if there were no weeds to kill, many 
farmers would not cultivate their soil; hence the 
other benefits of tillage — saving moisture and set- 
ting free plant food — would not be secured as often 
as they are now, w hen a multitude of weeds makes 
it necessary to till frequently. We have also been 
told that if a man cultivates his land as often as he 
ought, in order to secure these other benefits of 
tillage, weeds will not bother him much. 

Here, then, are two extreme views concerning 
the warfare between man and weeds. One man 
says that all that it is necessary to do is to cultivate 
often enough to keep down weeds and the other 
benefits will be secured in so doing. The other 
man says that if the soil is tilled as it ought to 
be in order to save water all the weeds w ill be killed 
in so doing. Both are radicals. The fact is that 
sometimes the soil should be stirred when there 
are no weeds in sight; and sometimes weeds 
are so bad that the soil must be stirred two or 
three times as often as would be necessary 
were we considering only soil moisture and plant 
food. During a hot, muggy July, with heavy 
thunder storms about every other day, the hoed 
crops would not suffer for lack of water were 
it not for weeds. Purslane, ragweed, crab-grass 
and a host of other worthies luxuriate over the 
ground, choking and stifling the crop and pumping 
immense quantities of water from the soil. 

The chief way in which weeds injure crops is by 




ao. PorATOKS IN DIRE NEED OK IILLAGE 
Soil water is l)oinK lost rapidly, and the plants need it 




80. POTATOES LUXURIATING UNDER A MULCH OF LOOSE, DRY SOIL 
This preserves the moisture to them. This crop will "iian out"; the other will not 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 103 

robbing them of water. They do use some 
plant food, but the loss is not as great. These 
weeds must be killed, even if one has to 
use the cultivator twice as often as would 
be necessary otherwise. On the other hand 
there may come a dry August during which 
few weeds start, but it is very essential that the 
cultivator be run over the ground once or twice 
a week so as to keep a layer of loose dry soil be- 
tween the precious soil moisture and the air which 
is hungry to suck it up. I have a little garden back 
of my house. During a rainy spring if I worked it 
enough to keep down all weeds it would be about 
three times a week, which is about three times 
oftener than it would be necessary to cultivate 
were soil moisture and plant food the chief con- 
cern. The question as to whether weeds or the 
saving of water, should be the guide to the fre- 
quency of tillage depends upon the locality and 
trie season ; it is as often one as the other. 

Weeds a Spur to the Sluggard. — Weeds, are how- 
ever, a mentor that we but half appreciate. It is 
easy to advise "Till as often as is necessary to keep 
soil water from escaping," but the escape of soil 
water is a very intangible thing, likewise the setting 
free of plant food, a benefit of tillage that will be 
mentioned shortly. We cannot see either of them, 
and most of us are apt to be careless about the 
things we cannot see. But weeds are very much 
in evidence. If the average man sees a dozen lusty 
pigweeds waving triumphantly above his early 
potatoes he will be much more likely to cultivate 
and hoe his garden than if he happens to notice 
that there is a thin, moisture-losing crust on the 
surface of the soil. Every good farmer has a big 
bump of pride which begins to thump impatiently 



104 SOILS 

when his crops get weedy, especially if they are 
close to the road. So he begins to stir the soil with 
a cultivator and to dig into it with a hoe; then the 
chief mission of weeds in farming has been ac- 
complished. From the beginning of husbandry 
they have pricked men on to till the soil. Now we 
know of other reasons for keeping the soil stirred 
around our plants, reasons that are important 
enough to make the best farmers till when there are 
no weeds. But weeds will always remain the spur 
of the sluggard — and a fairly reliable tillage guide 
to the rest of us. 

TILLAGE TO SAVE WATER 

Aside from preparing the soil to receive the crop 
and killing the weeds that would compete with the 
crop, tillage accomplishes another result that may 
be even more valuable to the farmer. It saves 
soil water, as has been described in the preceeding 
chapter, by establishing a mulch, which makes it 
impossible for much water to evaporate. The 
amount of water that is saved by keeping the sur- 
face of the soil thoroughly stirred may be as much 
as one-third of the total amount that the soil re- 
ceives. Snyder found that the soil of a corn field 
which had been cultivated frequently contained 
17 per cent, of water in the layer of soil from 9 
to 17 inches deep, while the same layer of 
soil in another part of the same field, but which 
had not been tilled, contained only 12 per cent, 
of water. 

The efficiency of a soil mulch in preventing the 
escape of soil water needs no further proof than 
observation in orchard, field and garden. During 
a summer drought the corn leaves shrivel first 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 105 

where the farmer has cultivated least. Just be- 
neath the loose dry soil of his cultivated field he 
finds moist soil, with plant roots revelling in it. 
On an uncultivated field he may have to dig down 
a foot or more before he finds moist soil. Even a 
casual examination of the farms in any community 
will convince a man that the operation which con- 
tributes most largely to success or failure in farming 
is tillage, chiefly in its relation to the saving of soil 
water. 

Tillage to Increase the Water-holding Capacity 
of a Soil. — Besides saving water by surface tillage 
tne farmer can increase the capacity of his soil to 
hold water by deep tillage, as by fall plowing and 
by subsoiling^ These operations loosen the soil 
to a deptli of 5 to 14 inches and thereby enable it 
to retain more of the water that falls upon it as rain 
or snow, a large part of which runs off as surface 
drainage when the soil is hard, carrying with it, 
perhaps, much fine soil. The shallow plowing so 
common in parts of the South is responsible for 
much of the loss of soil by washing in this region. 

Heavy clay soils and other soils that are quite 
compact, so that they absorb water very slowly, 
are benefited by subsoiling and fall plowing. Soils 
containing a large amount of sand are not bene- 
fited by this treatment — they are already too loose. 
The methods of plowing and subsoiling are con- 
sidered at length in the following chapter. 

DRY FARMING 

An important phase of tillage, in its relation to 
the saving of soil water, is the farm practice now 
commonly called "dry farming." In reality all 
farming that does not make use of irrigation is dry 



106 SOILS 

farming, but the term is commonly understood to 
mean the growing of crops in the arid or semi-arid 
regions without irrigation. In recent years much 
interest has been manifested in dry farming, and 
its methods have been appKed with increasing 
success over a constantly widening territory. The 
sections where it is practised are chiefly eastern 
North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, western 
Kansas, western Oklahoma, central Texas, eastern 
Washington, eastern Oregon, and scattered areas 
in Idaho, California, Utah, Montana, Colorado, 
New Mexico, Wyoming and Arizona. These 
regions include approximately 300,000,000 acres. 
Nevada is said to be the only arid state in which dry 
farming cannot be practised successfully. 

For the most part dry farming is practised on the 
border land of aridity, and on land in arid regions 
that it is impossible or impracticable to irrigate. 
There are many millions of acres of land in the 
arid and semi-arid regions that are above the 
"ditch line"; that is, they lie so high that the ex- 
pense of bringing water to them would be greater 
than the returns. Of such a nature, for example, 
are the high bench lands in the Cache Valley, Utah. 
Moreover, the amount of water in the arid and 
semi-arid regions that is available for irrigation is 
sufficient to water but a small portion of the entire 
area. Dry farming is the only kind of farming 
possible on millions of acres of land in the West. 

Dry farming is an attempt to grow the common 
crops with the minimum amount of moisture. 
Most of the sections in which it has been successful 
have a rainfall of from 10 to 15 inches, from 2 to 
5 inches of which, and often more, is lost by drain- 
age and seepage. Some dry farming sections have 
less than 10 inches of rainfall, yet crops are grown 




37. WATER HELD BY A COARSE AND BY A FINE SOIL 

The finer a soil is the more water it will hold. An abundance of soil water is as essential 

to the production of large crops as an abundance of plant 

food. Tillage makes a soil finer 




38. A LUMPY SOIL 

The soil in these lumps is useless to crops for the time being, as the root hairs feed only 

on the outside of small particles. Break up these lumps by wise tillage 

and by adding humus and so increase the " pasturage" of the crops 




■S'X A PERFECT SOIL MULCH 
It is five inches to moist soil. The surface layer of dry soil acts as a blanket 




40. WHERE TROUBLESOME WEEDS ARE WONT TO CONGREGATE 
ANT) TO MULTIPLY 

Keep the fence rows clean or, better yet, do away with them altogether. Many 
fences and walls are unnecessary 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 107 

that compare very favourably with those of Eastern 
farms that receive from 30 to 40 inches. Dry 
farming is never resorted to, however, except when 
irrigation is impossible or inexpedient. It is an 
illustration of what can be done by tillage to con- 
serve soil water that every farmer in the humid East 
may consider with profit. 

Dry Farming Methods. — The success of dry 
farming is based upon a most thorough application 
of the principles of tillage. Two things are essen- 
tial : the subsoil must be put in condition to receive 
and hold all the water that falls upon it, and the 
surface soil must be made dry and mellow to pre- 
vent the escape of that water by evaporation. A 
third essential, in some cases, is to secure seeds that 
are adapted to these trying conditions. 

In preparing the subsoil, an effort is usually 
made to leave it compact. Sometimes this is done 
with a special tool called a subsoil packer. This 
is a bevel wheel roller that follows the plow, rolling 
down and packing the subsoil. Each of its ten 
wheels has V-shaped rims which press deeply into 
the soil, compacting it below. The object is to 
make the subsoil so firm that the air spaces will be 
very small, hence air will not circulate freely 
through the soil and dry it out. The soil packer 
usually accompanies a steam plow outfit, which is 
generally used in dry farming. A weighted disk 
harrow, with disks set straight, is also used. The 
harrow is then put on — the same day if possible 
— and three or four inches of the surface soil is 
made into the most efficient kind of soil mulch, 
which is renewed frequently. Keep the harrowing 
close up to the plowing. The mulch established 
in dry farming would be a revelation to those 
Eastern farmers who barely scratch the surface 



108 SOILS 

of their fields, scarcely keeping down weeds, and 
who complain about drought. 

The combination of tools sometimes used in dry 
farming is remarkable. Frequently one 32-horse- 
power traction engine will drag twelve 14-inch 
plows, two corrugated iron rollers, two clod crushers, 
besides harrows and seed drills, the whole making 
a long procession, with unbroken land in front and 
smooth and seeded land behind. Such an outfit 
prepares and seeds about 35 acres a day. 

When the rainfall is very scanty it is necessary 
for success in dry farming to summer-fallow the 
land every other year. The object of the summer 
fallow is to store water for the next crop. Excellent 
tillage, together with packing the subsoil in some 
cases, is tne simple and easy secret of dry farming. 
It is the application, in an almost perfect way, 
of a principle that has been known, but usually 
very imperfectly applied, for several hundred years. 

Crops Under Dry Farming. — The crop grown 
most largely under dry farming is Durum or 
macaroni wheat. This was introduced into Amer- 
ica from Russia by the United States Department 
of Agriculture about ten years ago and has proved 
a most valuable acquisition. In Russia it has been 
grown successfully for many years on the steppes, 
where the rainfall is less than 10 inches. The 
readiness with which this remarkable plant lends 
itself to dry farming, and the wonderful increase 
in its culture, is shown by the fact that the first 
large crop of macaroni wheat in the United States 
was harvested in 1901, w^hile the crop of 1905 was 
close to 30,000,000 bushels. Average crops are 
15 to 25 bushels of wheat per acre in the arid region 
regions, and 30 to 50 bushels in the semi-arid 
regions. It thrives only in a very dry climate. 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 109 

Besides Durum wheat, Turkestan alfalfa, Kaffir 
corn, sorghum, emmer, dwarf milo maize, and a 
number of forage grasses are grown under dry 
farming. Rye and barley are also grown some- 
what. It is important to sow less seed than in 
humid farming, 30 to 35 lbs. per acre is usually 
enough. This seed should be grown in semi-arid, 
not in humid, sections. 

The present interest in dry farming in many 
parts of the West amounts to little less than a 
speculative fever. Dry farming companies are 
being organised to plant farms of 3,000 acres or 
larger. The values on "desert" land are appre- 
ciating rapidly, in some cases running from $2.50 
to $50 an acre in two or three years. Undoubtedly 
dry farming is doing much and will do vastly more 
to reclaim land formerly considered worthless be- 
cause of lack of water for irrigation. Next to 
irrigation it is the most important agricultural 
practice of our times in the arid West. Yet it is 
altogether likely that land will be used for dry 
farming which ought never to be cleared of sage 
brush. The present enthusiasm over dry farming 
bears some of the ear-marks of a boom. There are 
bound to be some disappointed and some ruined 
practitioners of dry farming, just as there were 
thousands of disappointed and ruined "rain- 
belters" in western Kansas, Nebraska, and the 
Dakotas twenty years ago. Undoubtedly the 
area that can be brought under profitable dry farm- 
ing may be greatly extended, as better methods for 
husbanding scanty rainfall become more gener- 
ally known and practised. But there is an 
unusual amount of risk connected with it, and no 
man should undertake this kind of farming until 
he has investigated it thoroughly. Whenever 



no SOILS 

possible irrigation should be used to supplement dry 
farming. 

TILLAGE TO PROMOTE FERTILITY 

The longer a soil lies idle, so far as the farmer is 
concerned, but is covered with Nature's crops year 
by year, the richer it becomes. The chief reason 
for this is pointed out in Chapter XII. Nature's 
crops die, decay and are returned to the soil, adding 
to it what they have taken out and improving 
its texture; the farmer's crops are mostly removed. 
On the other hand, it is also true that tillage makes 
the soil more fertile. It will do so as long as the 
supply of humus that is in the soil when it is cleared 
for cropping is maintained, and provided as much 
plant food is added to the soil each year as is re- 
moved in crops. But since neither of these con- 
ditions are complied with, it usually happens that 
the longer the soil is tilled the poorer it gets. The 
falling off in its ability to produce crops would be 
very much greater, however, were it not for the 
food-producing power of tillage. 

How Tillage Increases Fertility — The explana- 
tion of the power of tillage to increase fertility 
is very simple. In Chapter I it was stated 
that the chief agency that has broken up the 
rocks and made them into soil is weathering — the 
action of water, air, heat and cold. This action is 
still going on; soils are being weathered, as well as 
rocks and stones; their grains are becoming finer, 
their plant food more available. Tillage makes 
a soil more fertile chiefly because it loosens it, thus 
allowing a free entrance to these agencies that 
make it finer, and hence expose more surface for 
the roots to feed upon. Every time that a soil 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 111 

is plowed, harrowed or cultivated it is loosened, 
and air, water, heat and cold enter it more freely 
and attack it more vigorously. Nearly all farm 
soils, even some that produce poor crops, contain 
enormous quantities of plant food (Chapter XI), 
most of which, however, is in such a form that the 
plants cannot use it, being "unavailable" as the 
chemist says. Tillage makes much of this latent 
plant food available from year to year, by pro- 
moting better weathering. 

Tillage mixes the soil grains and changes their 
relative positions so that certain particles are 
brought together that have been separated before, 
and there is greater likelihood of chemical changes. 
It may carry to the surface grains of soil that have 
been lying several inches deep for many years, thus 
exposing them to weathering. It fills the soil with 
air which hastens the decay of vegetation, thus 
making humus and a large amount of carbonic 
acid. This carbonic acid becomes a part of the 
soil water and greatly increases its power to dis- 
solve plant food from the mineral portion of the 
soil. The better aeration of the soil due to tillage 
is favourable for the growth of the valuable nitro- 
gen-fixing bacteria described on page 40 . The 
activities of other beneficial germs in the soil are 
promoted by the warmth, drainage and aeration 
that follow tillage. If it were not for these benef- 
icent effects of tillage soils would become "worn- 
out" much sooner than they do now from con- 
tinued cropping with little return. 

Tillage the ''Poor Man's Manure.'" — Tillage has 
been called "the poor man's manure," with some 
fitness. Stirring the soil does enrich it to the ex- 
tent that it enables the farmer to use more of the 
native plant food in the soil. But it is not a manure 



112 SOILS 

in the sense of plant food applied. The value of 
thorough tillage to increase fertility was first dem- 
onstrated about 1730 by a wise old English 
farmer, Jethro Tull. We read in his "Horse Hoe- 
ing Husbandry" that he planted wheat in rows far 
enough apart to allow tillage between them, and 
raised more profitable crops without adding ma- 
nure than his neighbours, who manured highly 
but tilled little. In his enthusiasm Tull made the 
mistake of believing that tillage could take the 
place of fertilising, which we now know to be 
wrong. Good tillage — deep plowing, thorough 
harrowing, frequent cultivating — will largely reduce 
the fertiliser bill or delay the day when fertilisers 
and manures will be needed, because it enables the 
farmer to get the most from the soluble plant food 
already in the soil. But there always comes a time 
when tillage must be supplemented with manuring 
or fertilising. Tillage is not fertilising; but, if 
done thoroughly, it may save much fertilising. 

THE ALCHEMY THAT FOLLOWS THE PLOW 

Thus it is seen that simply stirring the soil, the 
commonest work on the farm and the work which 
often receives the least thought, sets at work many 
agencies that exert a profound influence on the 
productivity of the land. Every tiller of the soil 
should know something of the wonderful alchemy 
that follows the plowshare and cultivator tooth. 
As he plows, harrows, cultivates, rolls, drags, he 
should think, not that this is so much dirt that he 
must handle, so many weeds that he must kill, but 
that he is getting the soil laboratory ready for the 
delicate reactions and subtle changes that are a 
part of the wonderful process by which soil is made 



THE BENEFITS OF TILLAGE 113 

into plants. There is much more to tillage than 
burying trash, killing weeds and mellowing lumps. 
The farmer who sees only these things when he 
stirs the soil is not getting as much pleasure from his 
business as he might. As he trudges up and down 
the long field behind the sweating team, turning the 
moist earth into crumbling furrow slices, or guiding 
the cultivator between rows of thrifty plants, the 
work will seem less irksome if he thinks of these 
wonderful activities that he has set in motion, and 
plans how he may keep the soil laboratory in the 
best running order. 



116 SOILS 

been broad, high and bent over at the top very 
little, so that they inverted the soil very neatly but 
did not crumble it much. It was soon seen that 
the only way to accomplish this end was to make 
the furrow slice twist as it turned over. Then was 
produced the modern broad, flat plowshare with 
overhanging mouldboard, which accomplishes this 
result admirably. 

Subsequent to this discovery, during the last 
half of the nineteenth century improvements on 
the plow followed rapidly. The length of the 
beam and handles was increased and the latter 
set lower, thus making the plow much easier 
to control. The jointer, that most useful 
adjunct of the modern plow, was introduced and 
improved. One of the greatest troubles with the 
early plows was that they did not "scour" well; 
that is dirt collected on the mouldboard, making 
it rough and greatly reducing its efficiency and 
increasing the draft. The introduction of the 
Oliver chilled plow, in 1870, was a notable event 
in plow making. 

About 1870 gang plows were introduced. The first 
gang plows were two or three plows fastened to one 
beam. These were very cumbersome and were soon 
superseded by the sulky gang plow, which is largely 
used to-day, especially in the West. Various methods 
of hardening the mouldboards of plows were tried, 
until carbonising or chilling came into general usefor 
both steel and cast iron plows. Plow making has 
reached its highest development in America, from 
v/hich plows are shipped to all parts of the world. 
There are about 9,000,000 plows in use on American 
farms, representing an investment of $80,000,000 
for this tool alone. 

The Modern Ploiv. — The modern plow is the 




l-H 3 

O ° 




42. FLAT-FURROW PLOWING— THE SLICE COMPLETELY INVERTED 
Handsome, but does not crumble soil enough. Good for burying herbage 




43. CLAY SOIL PLOWED WHEN TOO WET 
Note the glazed appearance of the furrow-slice. This will make the soil cloddy 



METHODS OF PLOWING 117 

product of more than forty centuries of slow im- 
provement. During this time it has developed 
from a crooked stick, which barely scratched the 
surface and served no other purpose than that of 
permitting the seed to be sown, to a tool that pul- 
verises the soil, increases its water-holding capacity, 
adds to its fertility and has a more important in- 
fluence on the productiveness of the land than any 
other single treatment that it receives. Many 
attempts have been made to introduce substitutes 
for the plow in preparing the soil for crops, but 
none have been uniformly successful, although 
various ingenious spading tools are of considerable 
utility in special cases. 

The improvement of the plow and of plowing will 
continue. Where it is practicable for the farmer to 
use greater power, deeper working plows will be 
used, which will pulverise the soil to a much greater 
depth, thus increasing its water-holding capacity 
and its productivity. The fact that the plow — the 
most important tool of agriculture — was improved 
more during the nineteenth century than in all the 
centuries that precede, well illustrates the changed 
point of view, in this new era, when the best 
thought and the highest inventive genius of the world 
are being brought to bear upon the problems of the 
farmer. Two centuries ago this would not have 
been possible. 

THE OBJECTS OF PLOWING 

Aside from crumbling the soil, the chief objects 
of plowing are to destroy wild plants so that culti- 
vated plants may be grown in their place; and to 
bury the trash, as corn stubble and potato vines, 
so that the soil may be made ready for a new crop. 



118 SOILS 

A plow that does not accomplish both of these re- 
sults is faulty. All refuse should be covered so 
deeply that it is not brought to the surface by the 
harrow. This can usually be done without com- 
pletely inverting the furrow slice. A broad and 
deep furrow buries trash better than one that is 
narrow and shallow. If tall herbage is to be 
plowed under, as in plowing under a green manur- 
ing crop or a heavy growth of weeds, a chain with 
one end attached to the beam of the plow and the 
other to the end of the double-tree will make it easier 
to bury the plants, especially if a jointer is used 
also. Sometimes it is necessary to rake the coarsest 
part of the manure into the furrow in order to 
bury it completely. Herbage and refuse that is 
plowed under deeply decays more rapidly than if 
it is turned under with a shallow furrow, because 
the surface soil is dryer. When there is a large 
amount of herbage or trash to bury the team should 
be stronger and the furrow deeper than if the soil 
is unencumbered. If the furrow slice is com- 
pletely inverted herbage and trash is buried best, 
but the soil is not pulverised much. It is possible 
to bury herbage and trash with a crumbling furrow. 
Pulverising the Soil. — Unless a plow pulver- 
ises the soil so that the harrow can finish the pro- 
cess easily, it is not doing all that should be ex- 
pected of it. Plows differ greatly in the way which 
they leave the furrow. The furrow-slice is some- 
times completely inverted and lies flat on the bot- 
tom of the preceding furrow; this is called "flat- 
furrow plowing." Other furrows stand nearly 
edgewise without being crumbled much; this is 
called " overlapping-f urrow plowing." Still others 
are broken to pieces entirely; this is called "rol- 
ling-furrow plowing." 



METHODS OF PLOWING 119 

The way in which the surface is left by a plow 
depends chiefly upon the style of the mouldboard 
that is used; the bolder or more overhanging it is 
the more completely is the furrow-slice broken. 
An overhanging mouldboard prevents the furrow- 
slice from turning flat and leaves it rough. A 
rolling furrow-slice buries herbage and trash about 
as well as a flat one if a jointer is used; and it 
crumbles the soil much better. A plow that turns 
this kind of furrow is the best for most conditions. 
Flat-furrow plowing is the handsomest but the 
poorest plowing, in most cases. The soil is not 
crumbled and, what is even more important, the 
least amount of surface is exposed to the air. It is 
also more diflScult for the harrow teeth to take hold 
of the tips of these slices and break them without 
distributing the sod or herbage beneath. But 
flat-furrow plowing covers trash and herbage 
better than the other types of plowing, so 
that it may often be used to advantage for 
plowing stubble land, especially if it is fairly 
light. 

Lap-furrow plowing, in which the furrow-slice 
is only partly inverted, being left on edge and par- 
tially overlapping the preceding furrow-slice, 
leaves the soil fairly well pulverised and with a 
ridge surface so that it is easily mellowed and fined 
by the harrow, but it does not bury trash or herb- 
age well. It is especially valuable for fall plowing, 
particularly of clayey soils, as it leaves many air 
spaces beneath the furrow-slice and the soil is fully 
exposed to weathering. 

It is well worth while to have two or three types 
of plows on hand and use each acording to the 
results it accomplishes and the purpose in view. 
This costs more, but greater eflficiency results. 



no SOILS 

A very slight difference in the hnes of the mould- 
board may make wide results in plowing. Much 
depends upon the nature of the soil. Sandy soils 
may be plowed with a flat furrow-slice with much 
less detriment than clayey soils, which need much 
loosening and pulverising. If a tenacious soil is 
plowed so that the furrow-slice is completely in- 
verted it is much heavier and colder, for the season 
at least, than if the furrow-slices were overlapped. 

Plowing to Prepare the Seed-bed. — It is expen- 
sive work fitting soil to receive the seed. Plowing 
usually represents less than one-half the cost of 
preparing land for the crop; harrowing, dragging, 
planking, etc. if well done, cost more. One of the 
objects in plowing, then, should be to leave the 
soil in such a condition that as little subsequent 
tillage as possible will be needed to fit the land for 
the crop. This means that the plowman should 
not be satisfied with the handsome flat-furrow 
plowing that took prizes at the agricultural fairs 
50 years ago, but which requires much expensive 
harrowing to make it mellow. He should turn a 
furrow-slice that is just as loose and crumbly as 
possible and still bury the trash, so that the labour 
of harrowing may be reduced. The kind of plow 
that should be used, and the condition in which the 
land should be left, depends upon the kind of soil 
and the crop to be grown upon it; but whenever 
a plow is purchased its ability to pulverise the soil 
should be the chief measure of its value. 

Plowing to Promote Fertility. — It does this by 
all the ways mentioned in the previous chapter. 
It exposes the soil to weathering more completely 
so that more of its insoluble plant food is made 
available. It lets in the air which corrodes the 
minerals, forms carbonic acid with the humus and 



METHODS OF PLOWING 121 

enters into many chemical and physical combina- 
tions that have an important influence on soil fer- 
tility. Deep plowing brings to the surface sub- 
soil that has not lost so much of its plant food as 
the surface soil, not having been weathered so com- 
pletely. After one or two seasons this rich, raw 
soil becomes weathered sufficiently and is then 
utilised by crops. Furthermore, the mere fining 
of the soil by plowing increases its fertility by pre- 
senting a large surface for the roots to feed upon. 
The work of the nitrogen-fixing germs and of other 
useful agencies that make for fertility is wonder- 
fully hastened by the warmth and aeration induced 
by plowing. It is chiefly the depth to which the 
plow stirs soil that gives it preeminence among 
tillage tools. 

Ploiving to Deepen the Soil Reservoir. — Plowing 
may be made the means of increasing the water- 
holding capacity of a soil. Soils of a close texture, 
as the clays and clay loams, may be made to hold 
more water by deep plowing, because rain will sink 
into the loosened soil better. But sandy soils should 
not be plowed deeply ; they are too leachy at best. 
Light soils through which water passes too readily 
may be made somewhat more retentive by plowing 
them at the same depth every year. The tramping 
of the horses and the weight of the plow tend to com- 
pact the soil at the bottom of the furrow, making 
a kind of artificial hard-pan, or "plow bed, "which 
checks the downward passage of water somewhat. 
The depth at which this hard-pan should be formed 
is six to eight inches, depending upon the rooting 
habits of the crop grown. On the other hand, in 
plowing heavy soils the aim should be to prevent 
the formation of the hard-pan by varying the depth 
from year to year. The benefit of deep plowing 



122 SOILS 

to prevent the washing of clay soils is pointed out 
in a following paragraph. 

Plowing to Drain the Soil. — Plowing may also 
be made the means of draining a soil. It is best 
to have a soil of such texture that all water falling 
on it will be absorbed or pass through it. But 
this is rarely possible, particularly when the soil 
is heavy. Such soils, especially if nearly level, 
may often be plowed into "lands" to advantage. 
The dead furrows may be in the same place for 
several consecutive seasons, thus throwing the 
soil into slightly elevated beds. Lands from 
15 to 30 feet wide are often used, but lands 
60 to 75 feet wide drain the soil more efficiently, 
because not enough water may flow into narrow 
dead-furrows to make sufficient current to carry 
it off. Even when the field is fairly well drained, 
naturally or artificially, it is best to leave dead fur- 
rows from 30 to 50 feet apart, though not in the 
same place for succeeding years. 

Plowing to Establish a Mulch. — In addition to 
its value for increasing the capacity of a soil to hold 
water, plowing is one of the best means of prevent- 
ing the evaporation of water already in the soil. 
King, who has made many noteworthy experiments 
on this subject, concludes "In the conservation of 
soil moisture by tillage there is no way of develop- 
ing a mulch more efl^ective than that which is pro- 
duced by a tool working in the manner of a plow, 
to completely remove a layer of soil and lay it down 
again, bottom side up, in a loose condition." 

HOW DEEP TO PLOW 

There is sometimes much discussion about how 
deep the soil should be plowed. It is as impossible 



METHODS OF PLOWING 123 

to answer this question definitely and conclusively 
for all farmers as it is to prescribe that corn should 
be planted the first week in June everywhere. The 
best depth for plowing depends upon conditions; 
these each farmer must study for himself. No 
general statement can be made ; "plow deep" is 
sound advice in many cases, and very bad advice 
in others. 

The depth to plow should be governed mainly 
by the nature of the soil. As a general rule, the 
heavier the soil the deeper it should be plowed, for 
heavy soils need the loosening, draining and aerat- 
ing effect of deep plowing. Such soils are com- 
monly plowed from seven to ten inches deep. On 
the contrary, the lighter the soils the more shallow 
should they be plowed, since deep plowing makes 
the soil looser, and it is already too loose and 
leachy. If, however, humus is being plowed under, 
as manure or a cover crop, the plowing can be 
deeper. Sandy soils are commonly plowed four 
or five inches deep. If, however, it is desired to 
form an artificial hard-pan on such soils they may 
be plowed deeper. On raw soils it is well to plow 
about half an mch deeper each year until a depth 
of nine or ten inches is reached. 

The depth to plow should be influenced by the 
feeding habit of the crop to be grown. Are its 
feeding roots mostly in the first foot of soil or in 
the first five feet ? Plowing for fruit trees and root 
crops should be deeper, as a rule, than for other 
farm crops. 

Plow somewhat deeper in midsummer and fall, 
when the soil is apt to be dry, than in spring when 
the soil is cold and wet. In the humid sections 
farm manures or green manures plowed under at 
that time decay quicker near the surface than 



124 SOILS 

eight or nine inches deep. If the soil is damp and 
it is desired to dry and warm it for an early plant- 
ing» say of corn, it should be plowed more shallow 
than ordinarily. This is not advocating shal- 
low 'plowing for heavy lands in general, but stat- 
ing what may be done in certain cold, wet and late 
seasons. 

Eight inches may be considered deep plowing 
for many soils ; rarely is it practicable to plow more 
than eleven inches deep. Most field crops feed 
much more deeply than is commonly realised. 
Corn, parsnips and sweet potato roots occupy 
the ground to a depth of four or five feet and may 
go several feet deeper, depending upon the nature 
of the subsoil. It is safe to say that, on an aver- 
age, the roots of field crops forage five to six feet 
deep. But most of the feeding roots are in the 
plowed ground, because this is the richest, warmest 
and the best ventilated part of the soil. Therefore, 
the deeper the soil is plowed, within certain limits, 
the greater will be the productivity, because more 
of this congenial pasturage is provided for the roots. 

Subsoiling. — The subsoil sets a limit to the depth 
at which certain soils can be plowed. It may be 
yellow or of a different nature than the surface 
mould, and contain a large amount of raw plant 
food. If much of this raw^ soil is mixed with the 
surface soil the productivity of the land is apt to be 
seriously reduced for a number of years, or until 
weathering has acted upon the subsoil brought to 
the surface. About 1850 there was a widespread 
discussion in this country on the advantage of 
deep plowing. It led to the introduction of an 
implement with two plows upon one beam; a 
small one which turned a furrow three or four 
inches deep followed by a larger one which ran six 




i:<. AN IDl.AI, I'l.oW lOK ORIUNARV WORK 

This is tlic plow used in Fig. 44. Note the lines of the mouldboard, the annlc of the 
handles, and the jointer, beam wheel, and clevis 




46. A CHEAP AND RATHER INEFFECTIVE WOODEN-BEAM PLOW 

Compare mouldboard with prercdinc and note absence of overhang. Too shallow- 
working for any work but furrowing out for planting 



METHODS OF PLOWING 125 

or eight inches deeper, turning its furrow-slice upon 
that of the smaller plow. These plows proved 
impracticable, chiefly because they left the raw 
subsoil on top of the ground and buried the rich 
surface soil at the bottom of the furrow. 

The introduction of the subsoil plow, a little 
later, remedied this fault. This follows the plow 
and stirs the soil in the bottom of the furrow to a 
depth of five to ten inches, but does not bring it to 
the surface. There are two types of subsoil plows. 
One is shaped something like a harrow tooth; the 
other consists of a wedge-like shoe on the lower 
end of the bar. There is much difference of 
opinion concerning the value of the subsoil plow 
in general farming. It is not used nearly as much 
as it was fifteen years ago. The general conclusion 
seems to be that it is of service only on the heavier 
soils, which need better aeration and need to be 
deepened. But the soil that is loosened by the 
subsoil plow quickly falls back and becomes 
compact again, so subsoiling affords only tem- 
porary relief. Moreover, subsoiling may be a 
positive injury to some soils by destroying the 
earthworm burrows that effectively aerate and 
drain the subsoil. 

The lessened appreciation of the subsoil plow 
in recent years is due largely to the more general 
practiceofunder-drainage. Under-drainage loosens, 
deepens and aerates the soil permanently and to a 
much greater depth than subsoiling. Subsoiling 
should follow, not precede, under-drainage. It 
augments every good effect of drainage. At present 
the use of the subsoil plow is confined mostly to 
fairly well-drained lands which have a hard and 
dry subsoil; and for breaking up a hard-pan that 
is close to the surface. Subsoiling is usually in- 



126 SOILS 

iurious to a wet, clayey soil, making it puddle. It 
IS practised chiefly for crops that have long roots, 
notably for parsnips and carrots. The cost of 
subsoiling is from $1.50 to $3.00 per acre, or fully as 
much as the cost of plowing. It is customary to 
subsoil about every third or fourth year. 

Deeper Plowing Desirable.— The probability is 
that the future improvements in plows will be 
largely along the line of increasing the width and 
depth of the furrow without adding much to the 
draft. The farmers of a century hence will stir the 
soil deeper than we do, and so have more of it 
directly under their control. But many farmers 
of to-day do not plow nearly so deeply as they 
might and ought. This is especially true in 
the South, where the one-negro-one-mule-one-plow 
combination is thought to be the best solution of 
the problem. One mule can hardly furnish power 
to turn even four or five inches of soil. A large 
proportion of the Southern soils are clay, especially 
in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. 
These clayey soils, being very fine grained, absorb 
water very slowly. Hence, if they are not loosened 
and deepened by deep plowing the rains quickly 
overflow them and the surface drainage washes 
away the fine, rich soil and the fertility of the land 
with it. There are other causes of this washing 
(see Chapter XI), but shallow plowing is now ana 
has long been one of the principal causes. 

Farmers in other parts of the country are losing 
nearly as much by persisting in the old-time shal- 
low plowing of four or five inches, when they might 
easily double the feeding pasturage of their crops. 
Many of the farmers of the western prairies, in 
Nebraska, Dakota and contiguous states, plow very 
shallow. Sometimes the land is plowed only three 



METHODS OF PLOWING 127 

to four inches deep — sometimes it is not plowed 
at all for a year or two, the surface being simply 
scratched sufficiently to cover the seeds. When 
the tough prairie sod was first broken in the pioneer 
days, about seventy-five years ago, it was necessary 
to plow very shallow. The great "prairie breaker'* 
of those days had a beam nine to ten feet long, 
was pulled by eight to twelve yoke of oxen, and 
turned a furrow 18 inches to two feet wide and not 
more than 2 or 3 inches deep. This served its 
purpose admirably, but as soon as the native 
grasses were subdued it was seen that deeper work- 
mg plows were needed. Shallow-workmg "sod 
plows" are still used for subduing sod. Prairie 
soils are so open in texture and rich to such a depth 
that deep plowing does not give the beneficial 
results that it does in many other parts of the 
country. But it is quite certain that in the long 
run it pays to plow these soils deeper than the mere 
surface scratching that is now given to many of 
them. 

DRAFT IN PLOWING 

The power that it takes to plow, and the amount 
of draft required, have an important influence on 
the depth of plowing and the amount of pulverisa- 
tion accomplished. Experiments by Anderson 
showed that it takes 55 per cent, of the total draft 
in plowing to cut the furrow slice, and 12 per cent, 
to turn it; the 33 per cent, remaining is used in the 
friction of the sole and the landslide. An old share 
point makes plowing as hard work for three horses 
as a new pomt does for two. The use of a bold 
mouldboard increases the draft very slightly, not 
over 2 or 3 per cent, more than when a straighter 
mouldboard is used. This is a small price to pay 



128 SOILS 

for the much greater efficiency of the bold mould- 
board. 

A plow not adjusted properly may require 
50 per cent, more energy to move it. The 
investigation of Sanborn, in 1888, showed that the 
use of a coulter or "jointer increases the draft and 
the use of a beam wheel decreases the draft. He 
also found that the deeper a plow works, the less 
draft it requires in proportion to the size of the 
furrow-slice. That is, it does not take twice as 
much power to turn a furrow 8 inches deep as to 
turn one 4 inches deep, but less than this — about 
10 per cent, for each additional inch in depth, 
according to results at the Utica Plow Trial in 
1867. Likewise the wider the furrow the less 
power is required in proportion to the soil turned. 
With a bold mouldboard a furrow may be turned 
two or th^'ee times as wide as it is deep; if the 
mouldboarc 's less overhanging it is necessary to 
turn narrow furrows in order to leave the soil in 
good shape. 

Heavy Teams Do Better Work. — It is a mistake 
to plow with a light team, and nothing but the 
most shallow and least efficient plowing can be 
done with a single horse or mule. A light draft 
not only makes the plowing more shallow than 
if a heavy team were attached to the same plow, 
but the plow works in a jerky manner, and it is 
harder for both team and man. Roberts says: 
**If the little plow turning a furrow only nine 
or ten inches in width and six inches deep could be 
exchanged for a plow capable of handling a furrow 
sixteen inches wide and ten inches deep; and the 
two 900 pound horses replaced by three of 1,200 
each, the necessity for subsoiling would be obviated 
and the cost of plowing diminished rather than 




17. Sllll' II.l'SS I'LoWINC l.\ XORIII II.oRIDA 

I'lic laiiil is plowed only where the rows of the crop are to go; ;ifliT the iro]i is Krowing 
the farmer "breaks out the micldles" 

, J 




•IS. A TURMN'c; r.M.il.li IIIK I. lll,l,l...:,l. V.I I II 1111, .\II) OF A CHAIN 
One end is fastened to the beam, the other to tlic doubletree 




ff. 



iCl 







4'J. THE APPEARANCE OK LAND AFTER FALL PLOWLXG 
Soils that 'puddle" should not be plowed in the fall 




50. THE APPEARANCE ()F THE SAME LAND THE FoLLuWLNG Sl'RLNG 

The soil has been weathered and the texture improved. Fall plowing 
also promotes earliness 



METHODS OF PLOWING 129 

increased, wherever the fields are large and fairly 
level. The larger team could get through three 
acres while the smaller is getting through two; 
thus, by adding one-half more to the daily cost of 
the team, without any increased expense for plow- 
man, half as many acres again will be turned, and 
much better." 

Horses that walk fast are better than a slow 
team, not only because they cover more ground, 
but also because they do better work ; the faster the 
plow moves, provided there are no obstructions, 
the better is the soil pulverised. Large level fields 
are plowed better and quicker with a two or a three 
shore gang plow and four to six horses than if the 
power is divided into three teams pulling three single 
plows; and the saving of plowmen is worth con- 
sidering in these times when farm help is scarce. 
A still greater concentration of power is commonly 
practised in the West, where it is not uncommon 
to see fifteen or twenty horses pulling a single gang 
plow. When two or more teams are used on one 
plow the doubletrees of the forward teams are 
chained to the ring of the neck-yoke of the beam 
team. 

The Power for Plowing. — Next to the style of 
plow, the kind and quality of the motive power is 
the chief factor that controls the depth and thor- 
oughness of plowing. In America the ox, horse 
and mule are used almost exclusively, being the 
cheapest. Traction engines are quite frequently 
used in the West, especially in the arid and semi- 
arid regions. In many cases steam power has not 
been as satisfactory as horse power, because it 
costs more — horse flesh is cheap in this country. 
In Europe, where horses are dearer and machinery 
cheaper, steam power is often more practicable. 



130 SOILS 

Either a traction engine or a stationary engine is 
used. The former is run back and forth across the 
field dragging behind it a gang plow with six to 
twelve plows. A 25-horse-powerengine is commonly 
used. A steam plow outfit complete costs from 
$2,000 to $4,000. It is run by two men and plow- 
ing usually costs about 50 cents an acre as against 
75 cents to $1 by team. The stationary engine 
runs the gang plow by means of wire cables. The 
traction engine has been found more practicable 
in this country than the stationary engine, but the 
latter is used more commonly in Europe. There, 
too, electricity is used as a power for plowing. 
Some German fields are plowed with power se- 
cured from an electric trolley which is stretched 
above the field, giving, it is claimed, a cheaper 
and more satisfactory })ower than steam. 

Steam, electricity or any other machinery power 
will not become a very important feature in Amer- 
ican plowing for many years to come, except 
in the West. It is solely a question of economics — 
what kind of power is cheapest. Horses and 
mules are the chea])est power at present on the 
majority of American farms. We would naturally 
expect that machine power will first become 
practicable in this country where farming is done 
on a very large scale, and where the land is suffi- 
ciently level to make machine plowing feasible. 
The great farms of the western plains furnish these 
conditions and here steam plows are becoming 
common. However, in view of the recent astonish- 
ing developments in farm machinery, it would not 
be surprising to see within a quarter of a century 
some kind of a small power plow adapted for the 
farmer who tills less than a hundred acres. One 
can even imagine the small farmer of fifty years 



METHODS OF PLOWING 131 

hence riding over his field in a sort of automobile 
plow and handhng it with brake and lever. There 
nave been more remarkable improvements than 
this within a generation. But certain New England 
fields, at any rate, will never be plowed wiUi an 
automobile plow unless the rocks in it weather 
with remarkable ra})idity during the next few 
decades. It is more than likely that a willing team 
of Clyde or Perclieron horses and ji skilful man 
guiding the handles of a good walking plow, will 
be, for many years, tlie cheapest and most effective 
method of getting the soil ready for a crop on 90 
per cent, of American farms. 

THE ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD PLOW 

There are many styles and makes of plows, each 
different from the others in some res})ect. The 
kind of plow that should be bought depends upon 
the use for it and upon the way it is built. Do not 
buy a plow by its name or i\w reputation of the 
firm, any more than you would buy fertiliser by 
brand or a cow by pedigree. The essential parts 
of a good plow are l)riefiy discussed below: 

The Beam. This nuiy be of iron, steel or wood. 
A wooden beam is cheaper and lighter than a 
metal beam; for these reasons a majority of the 
plows now found on farms have wooden beams. 
Walnut and ash make the strontijest plow beams. 
Steel beams, which are much lighter than iron 
beams, are rapidly replacing wooden beams, being 
much stronger. 

The Mouldboard is the most important part of a 
plow; its shape should be studied carefully by a 
plow buyer, so as to note how it will lift, turn and 
pulverise the soil. The general shape of the 



132 SOILS 

mouldboard should be spiral. This most important 
principle in the construction of the mouldboard was 
first stated clearly in 1839 by two plow makers, 
Samuel Witherow and David fierce. '*The main 
object is to pulverise the soil, and the only way in 
which it can be effected is by bending a furrow-slice 
on a curved surface forward so that it shall be 
twisted, somewhat in the manner of a screw." 
The more nearly spiral a mouldboard is, the more 
completely will the soil be inverted, but it is not 
pulverised to any extent. 

The extent to which the mouldboard pulverises 
depends mostly on the steepness of its upward curve 
and the abruptness of its outward curve; that is, 
the upper or rear end is curved more sharply than 
the lower or forward end. This "bold mouldboard," 
as it is called, draws slightly harder and clogs a 
little more than those having a more moderate curve, 
but its much greater effectiveness in pulverising the 
soil more than compensates for these objections. 
The abrupt mouldboard is adapted for nearly all 
plowing, except for the fall plowing of clayey soils 
and for breakmg new land, when a plow having a 
long and gradually sloping mouldboard is more 
effective. 

The Coulter, or cutter, may be in the form of a 
knife or a rolling disk. The disk coulter is usually 
more useful than the knife coulter, which clogs 
easily. It is especially serviceable for plowing 
under litter, as cornstalks and straw, which it rolls 
down and cuts. The jointer, however, is now used 
more for this purpose. 

The Joiniery or skim coulter, is a most service- 
able attachment, especially when stubble, grass or 
manure are to be turned under. When herbage 
is plowed under without a jointer there is likely to 



METHODS OF PLOWING 133 

be a line of it left between the furrows. It skims a 
shallow furrow and deposits the herbage in the 
bottom of the furrow where it is covered by the 
furrow-slice of the mouldboard. It also pulverises 
the soil, if set deep enough to keep the furrow-slice 
from turning too flat. Both coulter and jointer 
increase the draft and should be kept sharp. 

The Beam Wheels or truck, which is attached to 
the end of the beam, is useful simply for steadying 
the plow. It should not be used to regulate the 
depth of the furrow, for if it is set low in order to 
make the plow turn a shallow furrow, it acts as a 
brake. If it is used merely to make the plow run 
more steady by reducing the effect of the motion of 
the horses, whiffletrees and eveners, it reduces the 
draft to a considerable extent. 

The Share, or plow-point, cuts the bottom of the 
furrow-slice from the land. It should be kept 
sharp, especially if grass or other roots are to be 
cut. The draft of a plow with a dull share is about 
7 per cent, greater than the draft of a plow with a 
sharp share. Shares may be renewed or sharpened. 

The Clevis, or bridle, is the metal attachment at 
the end of the beam used to regulate the depth and 
width of the furrows. The hitch on the clevis is 
raised to increase and lowered to decrease the 
depth; the clevis is swung to the right to increase 
width and swung to the left to reduce it. The 
clevis on swivel plows is changed by a lever from 
the handle. With some plows the change is ef- 
fected by moving the beam at the handles. Some 
plows have only notches in the clevis for holding 
the draft ring. There is a double clevis in use. 

In brief, the characteristics of a good plow are 
these: It should be as light as is consistent with de- 
sired strength. It should run steadily and have 



134 SOILS 

as light a draft as possible. It should pulverise 
the soil as well as turn it. 

When to plow 

Most plowing is done either in early spring, just 
before the planting of the crop, or late in the fall. 
The chief factor that decides this question is that 
of convenience. The best time to plow, however, 
depends upon the climate, the soil and the crop, 
as well as upon the convenience of the farmer. 
It is not necessarily the same for adjacent farms. 

Fall Plowing. — Land is plowed in the fall chiefly 
in two cases ; to improve its texture and to prepare 
it for fall seeding. Clayey soils, if not liable to 
puddle, are benefited most because it exposes them 
to weathering. Sandy soils may be greatly in- 
jured by fall plowing, because they are already too 
leachy. Where there is danger of washing from 
plowing clayey soils in the fall Roberts recom- 
mends that smgle furrows be drawn across the 
field about four or five feet apart; as, for example, 
between rows of corn. These improve the soil by 
weathering, make it earlier and it does not run 
together or puddle. These furrows are easily 
levelled in spring with a scantling chained cross- 
wise under the front end of the harrow, and driven 
lengthwise of the furrow. This makes more work, 
but it pays on cold, wet clays. It should never be 
practised on any soils that wash badly during the 
winter. 

Fall plowing is practised more in growing wheat 
and other cereals, and in market gardening, than 
for other crops. It is an almost universal practice 
in many sections of the West. It should be done 
early, when the ground is fairly dry. An incidental 



METHODS OF PLOWING 135 

advantage of fall plowing, in some cases, is that it 
destroys wire-worms. Land for fall seeding should 
be plowed, if possible, two or three weeks before 
sowing. Lap-furrow plowing is preferable. Land 
plowed in the fall may be benefited by being plowed 
again in the spring before being seeded ; but usually 
a good disking is sufficient. 

The Spring Plowing. — Spring plowing should 
be done early, before the days when a hot sun and 
drying wind suck from the unplowed soil much of 
the water that the crop could use to great advan- 
tage. A soil may lose as much as twenty tons of 
water per acre weekly by being left unplowed late 
into the spring. This is equal to 1.75 inches of 
rainfall. Early plowing also dries and warms the 
surface soil so that it may be planted early. Further- 
more, the earlier soil is plowed, the more spring 
rain it catches. If the land is covered with a catch 
crop there are additional reasons for plowing it 
early; the herbage will decay better, and if the 
catch crop is one that lives over the winter, as rye, 
it will be prevented from reducing the supply of 
water in the soil by its spring growth. The popular 
rule "Plow as early in spring as the ground works 
up mellow" epitomises the experience of many 
generations of farmers. 

The exact time to plow in spring depends mostly 
on the wetness of the soil. If the soil is light and 
porous it may be plowed, oftentimes, two or three 
weeks earlier than heavy soil on the same farm. 
Not till the soil crumbles readily when turned up 
in the furrow-slice is it in the best condition for 
plowing. If it is turned over in clods there will 
be trouble. The texture of a clayey soil may be 
nearly ruined by plowing it once or twice when it 
is wet; the soil is thrown into great clods which 



136 SOILS 

it may take several years to mellow. There is 
always a tendency to plow heavy soils too early, 
when they are wet, since early plowing means so 
much to the success of the grains which thrive 
best upon these soils. On the other hand, it is 
equally unprofitable to plow when the soil is very 
dry, as such a soil is likely to be puddled by rains 
when the lumps have been pulverised by the 
harrow. In both fall and spring plowing it is al- 
ways better to plow a week or more before seeding 
so as to allow the loose soil to settle, thus increasing 
its ability to supply film water to the seed. 

WHEN PLOWING IS DISPENSED WITH 

In a few sections of the country, especially in the 
Southeastern States, some farmers have a way of 
plowing only one or more furrows where each row 
is to be. The crop is then planted and the ground 
between the rows is plowed later. This "breaking 
out the middles" is a back-handed way of 
plowing, for the soil cannot be plowed and fitted 
nearly as conveniently and thoroughly after the 
crop is started as when the land is unoccupied. 
The only excuse for this practice is a rush of work 
at planting time, and it is doubtful if even this 
ought to be valid. 

There are occasions when it is best not to plow 
at all. If a mellow seed bed can be prepared readi- 
ly without plowing, and the surface soil is plenty 
rich enough, the land may be simply harrowed 
deeply in the spring and sown to the grains, which 
prefer a compact soil beneath the surface. Farmers 
in the prairie states sometimes follow this plan. 
Sometimes land from which beans or other crops 
have been removed is harrowed in preparation for 



METHODS OF PLOWING 137 

fall seeding of grain. These cases, however, are 
very rare, as compared with the almost universal 
experience that thorough plowing is the best prep- 
aration of a seed bed. 

USEFULNESS OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS 
OF PLOWS 

There are a number of distinct types of plows, 
each of which is adapted for certain conditions. 
Furthermore, there are many makes or brands of 
each class of plows and these differ widely in 
construction and in value. The merits of the five 
most important classes of plows — landslide, swivel, 
sulky, disk and gang — will be discussed briefly. 
AVhen it comes to choosing between the different 
makes of the same type of plow, the buyer must 
scrutinise the construction of each, especially the 
mouldboard, as advised in preceding paragraphs. 

The Landside Plow is the oldest and most com- 
mon type of plow. Probably five-sixths of all the 
plows used in the country belong to this class. It 
turns a furrow only in one direction, usually to the 
right; and more perfectly than swivel plows, which 
turn the furrow in either direction. It leaves a 
dead-furrow, which is no disadvantage on most 
land, as it assists in drainage. 

The Swivel Plow is constructed so that a furrow 
may be turned to the right or to the left, thus mak- 
ing it possible to plow a field so that all the furrows 
are turned one way and no dead-furrows are left. 
It is especially adapted for plowing hillsides, be- 
cause it leaves no dead-furrow to collect water. For 
this reason it is sometimes called the hillside plow. 
For general purposes, however, it is not usually 
considered quite as eflScient as a landside plow. 



138 SOILS 

The Sulky Plow is a plow mounted on wheels, 
with provision for the driver to ride and to con- 
trol it with a lever. The plow itself may be a 
swivel, which is turned at the end of each furrow; 
or there may be two landside plows, one turning 
the furrow-slice to the right and the other to the 
left, these being used alternately so that the plow- 
ing is back and forth, not around the field, and no 
dead-furrows are left. The landside construction 
is usually considered somewhat superior to the 
swivel construction in sulky plows. 

Under ordinary conditions the draft of a sulky 
plow is no greater than the draft of a landside plow 
doing the same amount and quality of work. A 
large part of the weight of the plow falls upon the 
axles, so that the friction on the sole of the plow is 
greatly relieved. A sulky plow weighing three or 
four times as much as a landside plow does not 
pull any harder, even with a man mounted upon it. 
If the soil is soft, so that the sulky wheels sink into 
it or clog, the draft is increased. Two heavy 
horses can pull it, but three are better. A good 
sulky plow, properly adjusted, should turn as even 
and deep a furrow as a landside plow, and some- 
what wider. If the soil is hard or rooty, it keeps 
in the ground better than a landside plow. This 
type of plow is of service only on comparatively 
level land; it is not practicable on hilly and rocky 
land. The mechanism of a sulky plow is not 
difficult to operate nor does it get out of order 
easily. Wherever it can be used to advantage the 
sulky plow saves the time and strength of the plow- 
man ; it is being used more every year by American 
farmers. 

The Gang Plow differs from the sulky plow 
chiefly in the fact that it turns more than one furrow 



METHODS OF PLOWING 139 

at a time. From two to twelve plows are mounted 
upon a frame, all turning furrows the same way, 
one following another. The sulky gang plow pro- 
vides a seat for a man; others have handles, like 
a landside plow, and are guided by the plowman. 
The latter commonly have two to four plows, run 
on low wheels. Some of the largest gang plows 
are reversible, like a sulky plow; they have two 
gangs, one right hand and one left hand. 

Gang plows are practicable only where there is 
a large area of fairly level land to be plowed. In 
this country they are used chiefly for plowing in 
the West. The chief saving that they effect is in 
decreasing the number of plowmen and in getting 
a larger area plowed when the weather and soil 
are suitable. Power is furnished by horses, mules, 
or steam, principally by horses but frequently 
by steam in this country. A steam gang plow, 
combined with a seeder and harrow has reduced the 
time required for manual labour in plowing, seeding 
and harrowing, in the production of a bushel of 
wheat, from 38.8 minutes in 1830 to 2.2 minutes at 
the present time ; and the cost of human and animal 
labour for the same operations, from four cents to 
one cent per bushel. It takes from six to eight 
horses to handle a four-furrow gang plow. When 
adjusted right a gang plow should do as good work 
as a sulky or landside plow. It is probable that 
they will be used to an increasing extent in this 
country, especially in the West ; but the sulky plow 
is better adapted for average conditions in the 
East. 

Disk Plow. — This implement is beginning to be 
used quite extensively in arid and semi-arid farming. 
It consists of a tempered steel disk, either single 
or in gangs of two or more, which is 25 to 30 inches 



140 SOILS 

in diameter and set at an angle to the surface of 
the soil, so as to invert and piilverise it. The disk 
is kept from clogging by an adjustable scraper. 
It is mounted on wheels and provided with levers, 
as in a sulky plow. - The disk plow is commonly 
used with steam power. It is especially valuable 
for hard, sticky soils, and has been found most 
practicable in "dry farming'* in the West. It 
does not appearthat it will supplant the mouldboard 
plow in the East, but it can be used to advantage 
m humid regions for breaking up the "plow bed" 
or "plow sole" formed by plowing heavy land 
with a mouldboard plow at the same depth for 
several years. 

ADJUSTING THE PLOW IN THE FIELD 

A good plow, handled or adjusted improperly, 
is no better than a poor tool. The same implement 
can do first-class plowing and very poor plowing, 
according to the skill of the man who holds it. 
When a plow is taken to the field the first thing to 
do is to adjust it properly — the adjustment varies 
with the team, the type of soil and the object sought. 
It pays to spend some little time in getting a plow 
adjusted right. 

Professor W. P. Brooks gives the novice at 
plowing some excellent suggestions on this sub- 
ject; they are here condensed, and slightly modi- 
fied: Hitch the team as close to the plow as pos- 
sible and hitch to the lowest hole in the clevis. 
Start the plow and note whether the furrow is 
sufiiciently deep; if not, hitch higher one hole at 
a time until the plow cuts at the right depth. If 
the furrow-slice is turned over flat, and a lap or 
rolling furrow is desired, it may be because the 



METHODS OF PLOWING 141 

furrow is too wide in proportion to its depth; to 
correct this, the clevis must be moved to tne left. 
If the furrow stands too nearly on edge it is narrow 
in proportion to its depth; move the clevis to the 
right. A plow that is properly adjusted should 
run in the soil for some distance without being 
held, cutting a furrow of even depth and width, 
provided the soil is free from stones and other 
obstructions. If it will not do this either the plow 
is a poor one, or, what is more likely, it is not cor- 
rectly set up or adjusted. When it runs all right, 
lower the beam wheel until it just touches the sur- 
face. Thus adjusted the plow will do its best 
work as easily as it can be made to run. 



CHAPTER VII 

HARROWING AND CULTIVATING 

EVEN the best plowing is but the beginning 
of good tillage. Unless followed by thor- 
ough harrowing and, for crops planted in 
in rows or drills, by thorough cultivation, the har- 
vest is likely to suffer. The necessary tillage sub- 
sequent to plowing is of two kinds. The first is 
fitting the land to receive the seed, by harrowing, 
rolling, planking, brushing, etc. This tillage be- 
fore the crop is planted, together with plowing itself, 
is sometimes called "the tillage of preparation." 
After the crop is planted the only kind of tillage 
needed is cultivating, called "the tillage of con- 
servation," because its chief function is to save, or 
conserve, the soil water. This distinction is made 
to emphasise one very important fact; that if the 
tillage of preparation is judicious and thorough, 
the tillage of conservation will be easy and effec- 
tive. The best cultivating cannot atone for hasty 
and imperfect harrowing. Many of the tools used 
for harrowing are equally valuable, in a modified 
form, for cultivating, since the main object of both 
is the same — to stir and fine the surface soil. 

OBJECTS OF HARROWING 

The plow leaves the soil in a rough condition, 
too rough and hard, in most cases, for planting. 
Some light sandy soils are so completely 
pulverised and levelled by good plowing that 

142 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 143 

they are sometimes seeded without being har- 
rowed, but this practice is rarely profitable. 
The plowed ground must be loosened and pul- 
verised so that the seeds will touch moist grains of 
soil on all sides, instead of lying between clods and 
lumps. The chief object of harrowing, then, is to 
make a fine and mellow seed-bed. In so doing it 
increases fertility, prevents the evaporation of soil 
water, makes the soil warmer and accomplishes 
all the other benefits of tillage. That the harrow 
teeth fertilise and water the soil as well as fine it, 
is a figure of speech that is based upon realities in 
the field. Harrowing may also be a means of 
covering the seed and of killing weeds. 

Better Harrowing Needed. — The necessity for 
harrowing more thoroughly than is commonly 
done needs to be repeated and reemphasised. 
Some farmers are content with one or two har- 
rowings, or merely enough to break up the largest 
lumps and enable the seeds to germinate. But 
that is not enough. We harrow to increase the 
feeding area of the roots all through the season by 
giving them finely divided soil in which to spread. 
We harrow to put the soil in the best possible con- 
dition to catch and hold the rains. We harrow to 
warm the soil, to aerate it and to promote the 
activity of the germ life that is so essential to its 
fertility. This means that the ground should be 
gone over more than is necessary to merely break 
up the lumps so that the seeds will germinate. It 
means harrowing and cross-harrowing, three times, 
four times, six times if necessary ; or until all of the 
upper four or five inches of soil upturned by the 
plow has been made as nearly like an onion 
bed in mellowness as the texture of the soil will 
permit. 



144 SOILS 

It does not pay to skimp harrowing in the rush 
of the busiest season of the farmers' busy year. A 
farmer once told me that every time he went over 
a certain piece of land with his cutaway harrow, in 
preparing it for corn, he received more than seventy- 
five cents an hour for the work when the ears were 
bushelled. Of course there is a limit, for every 
soil, to the number of times that it will pay to 
harrow it. Eight harrowings might give a larger 
crop than three harrowings, but would the increase 
be enough to justify the expenditure ? It is worth 
while for every farmer to find the point where better 
tillage ceases to be profitable on his soil. When he 
ascertains this he will be surprised to find how far 
this limit is beyond the common practice of the 
neighbourhood. 

KINDS OF HARROWS AND USEFULNESS OF EACH 

Harrowing tools are of innumerable patterns. 
Most any ingenious farmer can make a harrow that 
will do good work. There used to be a great 
many home-made harrows and cultivators, but 
now the patent implements are so reasonable 
in price and superior in efficiency that it 
scarcely pays to get one made by the local 
blacksmith. 

All harrows and cultivators are of four general 
types. The first class, represented by the spike- 
tooth harrow, press the soil down while pulver- 
ising it. The second class, represented by the 
spring-tooth harrow, lift the soil while pulverising 
it. The third class, represented by the Acme 
harrow, slice the soil and lift and turn it some- 
what. The fourth class, represented by the cut- 
away, roll over and cut the soil. There are 




^ 1-, 




52. A HOME-MADE SI'IKE-TOOTH HARROW, IN TWO SECTIONS 

This type of harrow is unexcelled for putting on the finishing touches in fitting land. It 
is not efficient on a stony or soddy soil 




53. A SULKY HARROW 

The middle teeth can be removed so that the implement will straddle a row of plants. 
then becomes a cultivator 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 145 

numerous variations of and gradations between 
these four types. 

Some soils are benefited most by a type of har- 
row which may be almost valueless for other soils 
near-by; hence we have farmers who would not 
use any other harrow than a cutaway and spike- 
tooth, because these especially suit the soil on their 
farms. They even dispute with neighbours who 
have a different kind of soil and wdio think nothing 
is equal to a spading harrow and an Acme. More- 
over, they may be growing a different kind of a crop, 
which may mean that a different preparation of the 
soil is needed. The fact is there is no best harrow 
any more than there is a best plow or best breed 
of cows. The best harrow is the one that prepares 
a particular soil for a particular crop most satis- 
factorily; and soils and crops differ about as 
much as the farmers that handle them. The 
farmer should experiment with several types of 
harrows and find the best for his purpose. 

The Spike-tooth Harrow is a most efficient tool 
under certain well-defined conditions. There 
are more home-made spike- tooth harrows on Ameri- 
can farms than any other tillage tool. Some of the 
older home-made spike-tooth harrows are square, 
but more commonly they are A-shaped, with teeth 
set vertically on the side pieces only and a horse- 
shoe nailed to the nose for a chain ring. These 
harrows did imperfect w^ork as compared with the 
spike-tooth harrows of the present time. 

Recent improvements in this time-honoured tool 
have greatly increased its usefulness. These are the 
addition of many more teeth; providing that they 
may be adjusted to run either vertical or slanted 
backward at various degrees; and making the har- 
row in several sections, which facilitates cleaning 



146 SOILS 

the teeth of entangled weeds. The implement 
is now made with a steel or iron frame, usually 
rectangular, and should be provided with a shoe. 
The more the teeth slant backward the more 
shallow do they work jand the greater is the smooth- 
ing effect of the tool. The teeth should be set 
straight only when it is desired that they work 
deeply and tear up the soil. 

The size of the spike-tooth harrow varies from 
a single six-foot section to the forty-foot wide 
smoothing harrow of many sections that is used 
on prairie grain fields. The latter are drawn by 
four to six horses and cover thirty to forty acres a 
day. The width of all harrows has increased in 
recent years and is still increasing in obedience to 
the same demand that has given us gang plows. 
The wider a harrow is the steadier it runs. 

Usefulness of the Spike-tooth Harrow — The 
spike-tooth harrow is seldom used now to tear 
up rough- plowed ground, as it was some years 
ago before improved harrows were available. 
The old time spike-tooth harrow had a few long, 
heavy teeth which tore up sod quite effectively, 
especially when weighted with rocks, or pro- 
vided with a platform for the driver. At the 
present time most spike- tooth harrows are of the 
type called "smoothing harrows," having numerous 
small and short teeth. When the teeth are so 
short that the bar in which they are set scrapes the 
ground when it is in use, the implement is often 
called a "drag." This type of harrow is chiefly 
valuable for one purpose — to put the finishing 
touches on a piece of land that needs to be 
made very mellow and very level for seeding. 
It is usually preceded by a stronger and deeper- 
working tool, as a disk or spring-tooth harrow. 




54. A .^IKlNc-lOoTH HARkuW 

The depth at which it works is regulated by the levers. It is often made larger than this. 
The same tool is used as an orchard cultivator 




>rs3^'^ 



CA 



.4*, 







55. THE WORK OF A SPRIXG-TOOTH HARROW 

It is particularly serviceable for loosening a compact soil, as the teeth pull up, and is a 

valuable tool on stony, cloddy, and soddy land. It is often desirable, 

however, to level off the high ridges left by a spring-tooth harrow 




56. "SWEEPS" ATTACHED TO A PLOW-STOCK, FOR "LAYING BY" CORX 
They cut olT Inrge weeds, but injure roots and leave the soil ridged 




57. THE EFFECT OF USING THE ABOVE TOOL FOR CULTIVATING A 
COTTON FIELD 

Note thf high ridges from which much water evaporates, and the deep furrows which 
favour the washing away of fine soil 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 147 

A second occasion when a spike-tooth harrow 
may be used to advantage is in tiUing a crop before 
it has come up, or even afterwards. Land in corn 
or potatoes, for example, may be run over a few 
days after planting with a shallow-working spike- 
tooth harrow with the teeth slanted backward; 
this will kill the young weeds and check the escape 
of moisture. This kind of tillage can be repeated 
to advantage every few days until the plants are 
two or three inches high, or until they are bruised 
by passing between the teeth. 

The spike-tooth harrow presses down into the 
soil and compacts it more than most other har- 
rows. It has something of the effect of a roller. 
For this reason it is somewhat more useful on light, 
sandy soils which need compacting, than upon 
heavy soils, although its compacting effect is not 
sufficiently injurious to warrant its being discard- 
ed for finishing and smoothing the heavier soils. 

S'pring-tooth Harrow. — The curved spring teeth 
of this popular tool enable it to clear obstructions 
easily; for this reason it is especially valuable on 
stony, rooty or stumpy land. The teeth can be 
set by a lever to run at various depths; this also 
affects the quality of the work done. The spring- 
tooth harrow leaves the soil in ridges of consider- 
able height, which is a disadvantage in many cases, 
as it causes the soil to lose more water from the 
greater surface exposed to evaporation. This 
objection may be overcome by following it with a 
smoothing harrow. A section of smoothing har- 
row is frequently attached behind the spring- 
tooth harrow, or a joist or plank, say 2 inches by 6 
inches, or a heavy iron pipe may drag behind it. 
Any one of these devices is quite successful in 
levelling the ridges left by the broad teeth. 



148 SOILS 

The spring-tooth harrow is a good implement 
for rough work, and especially for stony ground. 
It is very popular for orchard tillage, partly be- 
cause the teeth spring over the roots with little 
damage to them. It. is not so serviceable when sod, 
green manure, or a large quantity of strawy manure 
has been plowed under, as the teeth are likely to 
dig out part of this material and leave it on the 
surface. 

On rough land the spring-tooth harrow is jerky 
and hard upon the horses' shoulders. The draft 
of a spring-tooth harrow set moderately deep is 
about equal to the draft in plowing, but it is easier 
for a team to plow all day than to pull a spring- 
tooth harrow all day, because the plow runs more 
evenly. The jerkiness of the common type of 
this harrow — in which all the weight rests upon the 
teeth — is largely overcome in a more recent form, 
which is mounted on wheels. All the weight of 
this implement rests upon the wheels, thus allow- 
ing the teeth to pull up and loosen the soil, and re- 
lieving somewhat the unevenness in draft. Even 
the common type of spring-tooth harrow, however, 
leaves the soil lighter than most other harrows 
because of the upward pull of the teeth. It is this 
advantage, as well as durability and the ease with 
which obstructions are cleared, that makes the 
spring-tooth harrow so popular. It can be bought 
by sections in various sizes; the wider it is, within 
reasonable limits, the cheaper will the harrowing 
be done. 

Acme Harrow. — This is the most noted repre- 
sentative of a type of implements known as the 
coulter harrows, so called because they have teeth 
that have been twisted, somewhat resembling a 
plow coulter. The teeth first cut the soil, 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 149 

then raise, turn and pulverise it, doing the work of 
a plow on a small scale. It has been stated 
that the plow makes the best mulch to prevent the 
escape of soil water. The great efficiency of the 
Acme and similar harrows rests upon their appli- 
cation of the cutting, raising and pulverising action 
of a plow. In the judgment of many people the 
Acme harrow will give satisfaction over a wider 
range of conditions than any other type. It will 
work from one to four inches deep, as is desired. 
Following the plow it breaks up the furrows as 
well as any other tool unless the land is rocky or 
the sod tough, in which case a disk or spring-tooth 
harrow is better. It leaves the soil nearly as level 
and mellow as a smoothing harrow. 

Rolling Harrows. — Harrows of this class have one 
or more revolving shafts to which are attached 
a number of disks, which are either entire, 
as in the common disk harrow, or notched, 
as in the spading and cutaway harrows. These 
harrows work deeper than harrows of any other 
class. They are especially valuable for working- 
heavy soil, tough sod and intractable land of any 
sort. Two things decrease their value for estab- 
lishing a soil mulch — they leave the soil in rather 
high ridges, which evaporate much moisture; and, 
if not adjusted properly, the disks do not stir all the 
surface, but leave a triangle or cone of unstirred 
soil. The ridges may be levelled by dragging a 
section of a smoothing harrow or a heavy joist be- 
hind, but the draft on harrows of this type is heavy 
enough without this additional burden; it is some- 
what greater than a plow, in most soils. 

Usually the disk, cutaway and spading harrows 
should be used only to do the rough work of fitting 



150 SOILS 

the land; to tear it and brinpj it up to the point 
where an Acme or smoothing harrow can be used 
to advantage. Tliey are sometimes used as a sub- 
stitute for the plow, when deep tillage is not 
necessary or is not i)rac'tical)le; as to tear up the 
sod in an old orchard that it is proposed to culti- 
vate, or to fit land for fall wheat after a crop of 
bejins has been harvested. Some Western farmers 
fit the land in spring for the cereals, using one of 
these harrows wliich can stir the ground 5 inches 
deep. 

The great trouble with any one of these rolling 
harrows, in the hands of a careless workman, 
is that the disks will be so set that they j)low 
out wide, deep groves, leaving untouched ridges 
between them, which are lightly covered with loose 
soil. In order to completely stir ilic soil and establish 
an efficient mulch tlie disks should be set so that 
they will enter the soil at a wide angle. Rolling 
harrows are made in two sections or gangs and 
the gangs throw dirt in opposite directions, 
usually from the centre outward, l^his makes 
it necessary to overhip in order to keep the ground 
level, but a better way is to level it with a 
smoothing harrow. 

The comj)arative merits of the three leading 
rolling harrows — the disk, cutaway and spading — 
is the subject of much needless dispute. Some 
farmers are partisans for one and some for another, 
according to the way it strikes their fancy or the 
way it works on their soils. In general they handle 
the soil in about the same way. Probably the 
disk harrow is used more than the other two at the 
present time, partly because it is less likely to 
break. The Meeker harrow, which is used by 
many market gardeners and truck farmers, is 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 151 

essentially the same as the disk harrow, except that 
it has many very small disks permanently fixed 
in a rectangular frame, instead of a few large ones. 
It leaves the soil about as smooth as an iron rake 
and is used solely for preparing a very level seed- 
bed. 

WHEN SOIL IS READY TO HARROW 

In harrowing, as well as in plowing, there is a 
good deal in catching the soil at the right time. 
If the land is inclined to be wet and the upturned 
furrows have a glazed appearance it is well to let 
them dry before harrowing. Several hours, or 
even several days, may be needed to bring them to 
that stage of dryness when the soil will crumble 
nicely. No other consideration should influence 
one to harrow before this. It is better to lose some 
of the water in this soil by evaporation than to run 
any risk of injuring its texture. On the other 
hand, if the soil turns over mellow and ready to be 
harrowed at once the time to catch it is right then, 
before it becomes dry on top. A delay of a single 
day in harrowing a plowed field may mean that half 
an inch or more of the precious water in it has 
been lost. After the furrows have dried out con- 
siderably they may become hard and cloddy and 
will be pulverised with greater difiiculty. 

The soil should be moist, not wet or dry, 
in order to do the most effective harrowing. 
Some of the lighter soils dry out very quickly 
in the furrow, even in an hour or two. If 
it can be done without too much inconven- 
ience it is best to harrow these soils within a 
few hours after they are plowed — certainly the 
same day. When but one team is plowing on a 



152 SOILS 

light soil it will pay to take it off the plow and hitch 
it to the harrow early enough to make a mellow 
seed bed of the furrow-slices before nightfall. This 
is much better than to defer harrowing until the 
plowing is finished. The subsoil is compacted in 
narrowing; this starts capillary action and water 
is drawn from the soil below, and would escape 
were it not for the mulch of fine soil left on the 
surface by the harrow. The compacting effect on 
the subsoil by harrowing is a benefit on most soils. 

LEADING TYPES OF CULTIVATORS 

As the term is commonly used, a cultivator is 
any toothed implement that is used to stir the soil 
after it has been fitted, chiefly for the purpose of 
killing weeds and preventing the loss of soil water. 
Many harrows are used as cultivators under certain 
conditions; as when a spring- tooth harrow is used 
to preserve the soil mulch in an orchard, or when a 
spike-tooth harrow is used to run over the potato 
field when the sprouts are still small enough to 
slip between the teeth without injury. When 
narrowed down to its most distinctive usage a 
cultivator is a toothed implement drawn by one 
horse and used for inter-tillage, or for preserving 
the mulch between rows of plants. Most of these 
kinds of cultivators, however, are only small 
harrows with handles attached, and they stir the 
soil in about the same way as the harrows that have 
been described. All kinds of cultivators are some- 
times called " horse hoes," but this name seems to be 
especially fitted for the broad-tooth coulter 
cultivators. 

The following classes of cultivators include most 
of those in common use, but there is an almost 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 153 

endless variation in the details of construction in 
each class. 

Shovel-tooth or Coulter Cultivators. — Probably 
more of the cultivators used in this country belong 
to this class than to any other. The teeth of dif- 
ferent cultivators vary greatly in shape and size; 
nearly all enter the ground at an angle and are 
rounded on the front side. Many coulter culti- 
vators work up the soil like a plow, lifting, turning 
and pulverising it to some extent. The soil is 
loosened to a depth of two to five inches, depending 
upon the style of cultivator and upon the adjust- 
ment of the lever with which many coulter culti- 
vators are provided. The surface of the soil is 
left either quite level or in rather high ridges, de- 
pending upon the width of the teeth. The wider 
they are the rougher they leave the soil. 

Cultivators with about five broad teeth work the 
ground deeply and are especially valuable for loosen- 
ing heavy or compact soil ; but for the purpose of 
killing weeds or preserving a mulch, a cultivator 
with more and narrower teeth is much better. 
There are too many broad-toothed, deep-working 
cultivators used and too few narrow-toothed 
shallow-working tools. Each kind is most useful 
for a certain definite purpose ; the one for loosening 
a hard soil, as after planting or after a beating rain; 
the other for preserving the shallow mulch that is 
the most useful and economical kind of tillage 
during the summer. Various attachments accom- 
pany coulter cultivators, such as wings for hilling 
or ridging, and rolling disks to cut off strawberry 
runners. 

Spike-tooth Cultivators. — Implements of this 
class have become very popular in recent years, 
and deservedly so. The spike-tooth cultivator is 



154 SOILS 

simply a spike-tooth harrow, shaped like an A, 
with handles attached. It may be worked shallow 
and leave the surface very level; for this reason 
it is considered one of the best tools for preserving 
the soil mulch after it has been made by deeper 
Working tools. The teeth may be straight on one 
end and bent forward on the other and it should 
be easy to reverse the ends. The bent end works 
deeper. Most makes are also provided with a 
lever to regulate the depth at which the teeth 
work. The spike-tooth cultivator is not a good 
implement for killing weeds except when they are 
less than half an inch high. It is preeminently 
a tool for making a mulch. If weeds get a start 
the broader teeth of the coulter cultivator will up- 
root them much better. 

The advantage of using a spike-tooth harrow as 
a cultivator for stirring the entire surface of the 
soil, where corn, potatoes, peas, beets and many 
other crops have been planted, has already been 
alluded to. Many people are afraid to use this 
harrow for this purpose, thinking it will pull up the 
crop as well as the weeds. But little if any injury 
to the crop results from this harrowing, chiefly 
because the seeds of the crop have been planted 
deeply and the soil firmed around them; while 
the weed seeds are mostly on or near the surface; 
hence young weeds have a much slighter hold upon 
the soil than the crop. The harrow may be used 
for cultivating these crops until they are four 
to six inches high; it is the most economical culti- 
vating that can be given. 

Sfring-tooth Cultivators, usually with five teeth, 
are occasionally used. Like spring-tooth harrows, 
they work deeply, loosening the soil for four or five 
inches if necessary. For this reason they are quite 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 155 

serviceable on the heavier soils. But the superior 
value of shallow cultivation has been demonstrated 
so conclusively that it is doubtful if the spring- 
tooth cultivator has any advantages over the more 
common coulter cultivator and spike-tooth culti- 
vator, except for the specific purpose of loosening a 
hard soil. It is not as efiicient a weed killer as the 
coulter type of tool. 

Sulky Cultivators. — Probably 90 per cent, of the 
cultivators used in the United States are walking 
coulter or spike-tooth tools, or some gradation be- 
tween the two. Sulky or riding cultivators are 
used principally in the "corn belt" of the Missis- 
sippi Valley and are seen occasionally in the East. 
In most of them the teeth are in two gangs with a 
space between for the row of corn or other plants. 
Two horses are used, one walking on one side of 
the row and the other on the opposite side, the 
cultivator wheels straddling the row and the teeth 
working on both sides of it. Sulky cultivators 
nearly all have coulter teeth, but a few have spike 
teeth, spring teeth or even disks. The coulter 
teeth are preferable in most cases. Disks are apt 
to work too deep close to the rows. Disk culti- 
vators are excellent, however, for chopping up and 
destroying large weeds, if the crop gets very foul. 
Several different sets of shovels are usually pro- 
vided, including extra shovels which may be 
attached so as to run where the row space is left, 
thus making a sulky harrow which stirs soil for its 
full width and is used to prepare the soil for 
planting. 

The chief advantages of a sulky cultivator 
are that it covers more ground than a walking 
implement and saves the strength of the farmer. 
But it does not do as good work, as a rule, since it 



156 SOILS 

is impossible to guide it so carefully. It always 
damages the young plants more than a walking 
cultivator, even when the very serviceable plant 
guard attachment is used on each side of the row to 
prevent dirt from being thrown against the young 
plants. Moreover, a sulky cultivator is consider- 
ably harder to draw than a walking cultivator. 

Weeders. — The essential principle of all the 
several kinds of weeders is one or more rows of 
long, flexible teeth which stir the ground a good 
deal like the teeth of a horse rake; not being 
curved at the lower end, they do not stir it deeply. 
The teeth are either round or flat. The more 
common weeders stir a section of soil from six to 
nine feet wide; there are also adjustable weeders 
in two sections which stir from two and one-half 
to seven and one-half feet of soil. 

Weeders are useful for three purposes — to kill 
very young weeds; to preserve a shallow mulch 
after the soil has been loosened by a deeper working 
tool; and to cover broadcasted seed. They are 
used chiefly for stirring the entire surface of the 
ground that has been planted to row crops, as corn, 
potatoes, parsnips and market-garden crops in 
general, doing the same work as the smoothing 
harrow, but not stirring the soil so deeply. The 
teeth tear up and kill tiny weeds just appearing on 
the surface, but since the crop plants are anchored 
firmly in the soil by deeper roots they readily pass 
between the flexible teeth without injury. 

A weeder is not effective unless it is used very 
frequently, or often enough to prevent any weeds 
from getting sufficiently large to resist the teeth. 
It cannot be used successfully on stony soil. In 
some sections, and especially in market gardens, 
weeders are used very extensively; some truckers 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 157 

do most of their tillage with them up to the time 
when the plants get too large to pass between the 
long teeth without bruising. Since the weeder 
stirs the soil no more than an inch and a half to 
two inches deep, it should be supplemented with 
the cultivator whenever the soil gets hard. This 
is especially true on the heavier soils, which are 
apt to get caked beneath the very shallow mulch 
made by the weeder. The weeder is a special 
purpose tool, as compared with the coulter culti- 
vator, which is a general purpose tool. It is most 
useful in growing crops under intensive culture 
and on soils of the best texture. 

CULTIVATING TO KILL WEEDS 

How often to cultivate depends upon the nature 
of the soil, the kind of crop, the dryness of the 
season, the prevalence of weeds, etc. It is a local 
and personal problem. This much is certain; 
one should cultivate often enough to keep down 
weeds, at least during the early part of the season. 
This advice would appear to be superfluous were 
it not that so many farmers do not keep down 
weeds. 

Weeds injure the plants and reduce the yield 
in several ways. They crowd and shade the 
plants, thus keeping part of the life-giving sunshine 
away from them, making them spindling, like 
forest pines which are drawn up to a great height 
in their desperate struggle with each other to get 
light. They steal food from the plants. Every 
young corn plant that is being choked above ground 
by the tops of weeds is also being jostled below by 



158 SOILS 

their roots. These are in every inch of soil 
that the corn roots have penetrated, disputing with 
them for its richness. There are many figures on 
the amount of plant foods removed from the soil 
by various crops, but how about the amount of 
plant food taken out of the soil by a big crop of 
weeds in a potato field .^ It is true that the 
weeds are plowed under eventually, so that the 
plant food they use is not lost to the soil; but it is 
lost to that particular crop, anyhow, and the crop 
would have been bigger if the plants could have 
had the use of all the surface richness that the 
shallow-feeding weeds have gobbled up. I like 
to see a farmer stop his cultivator, even on his way 
to dinner, to pull up a particularly lusty and 
arrogant weed. He knows it is robbing him. The 
insidious drain that weeds make upon the most 
available fertility of our fields is not appreciated 
half as much as it ought to be. 

Weeds Steal Water. — Weeds rob the plants of 
water as well as of food. They use as much and 
sometimes more water than cultivated plants in 
proportion to their size and weight. It is in this 
way that they inflict the greatest injury to crops. 
The plant food they use is restored to the land, and 
perhaps the crop of another year may use it, but 
the water they use is lost; most of it passes off 
into the air through their leaves. There are 
figures on how much soil water is used in growing 
a crop of corn or potatoes; how much water is 
used in growing a big crop of weeds between the 
corn or potatoes ? Perhaps not so much, but 
certainly nearly as much. Where soil moisture is 
as important as it is in most parts of the country the 




5S. THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF DEEP-WORKING COULTER-TOOTH 
CULTIVATOR 

It is excellent for breaking a crust and loosening a hard soil, but a shallow-working tool 
with narrower teeth is better for making a mulch 




ii-i_l:^, -^' -^.r^ -«i 



59. YOUNG CORN IN NEED OF A CULTIVATION 

This crust, formed by a beating rain, is evaporating water. It should be pulverised 

into a mulch 




tilt. A tlH.llNAroK rilAT IS KI':A1.1,V a I'l.OW 

I'sually it is unwise lo "plow out" i oni in lliis way. unless llie soil Kf's very li:iri 
I'low (leeplv in spring, li( the land tlmrouKlily, and eullivule slialldw llnri'aller 




(il. CUI-rUATlNC. Al' A DISADVAN TACK 

The rows ol torn dial cross tliis steen North Camlina hill nuisl ho i iillivaleil skilfully to 
prevent wjishiiiK. Note that rows are nearly level 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 159 

farmer can ill aft'ord to spare water, even to grow 
weeds that will enrich his soil when plowed under. 
He had better grow plants to plow under in late 
fall, after the crop has ceased to need much water. 

This advice is unnecessary for the majority of 
farmers, who hate a weed and understand now 
much it works against their interests. But some 
farmers appear to have gotten so accustomed to 
having weeds in their fields that they have come to 
view them with greater leniency, even with toler- 
ation. Weeds, like the poor, are always with us; 
we are liable to grow indifferent to both. 

Cultivation is the greatest weed-killing device 
yet known, at least for crops that permit of inter- 
tillage. Some people are always looking for some 
new or patent way of getting rid of weeds with 
little labour, but no good substitute for cultivation 
has yet been found. In making the earth yield 
her increase nothing can take the place of stirring 
the soil. Most weeds are annuals; these are 
shallow rooted and are easily uptorn by the 
cultivator teeth. Some, however, are perennials 
and deeper rooted. These may require special 
treatment, such as rotation of crops. 

THE BEST TIME TO KILL WEEDS 

In cultivating to kill weeds it makes a difference 
what stage they are in. The vulnerable stages of 
most weeds are immediately after they have 
sprouted, and when they are in flower. Some 
perennial weeds, especially pasture weeds, may be 
killed best when in flower; but the sprouting 
stage is the time to attack most weeds on cultivated 



160 SOILS 

land. Weed seeds are mostly in the first inch or 
two of soil; a very shallow cultivation will expose 
the sprouting seeds and young weeds to the merci- 
less sun. Many of the finer-seeded kinds are 
buried so deeply by a deep-working cultivator that 
they never come up again, especially if a coulter 
cultivator is used. It is easy to kill weeds in this 
way, but it is difficult to kill them after they are so 
large that cultivator teeth do not uproot them, and 
cultivating must be supplemented by hoeing and 
hand-pulling. 

There is no better illustration of the old adage 
*'a stitch in time saves nine" than in the killing of 
weeds. It pays to be forehanded in cultivating 
more than any other work on the farm. The time 
to start the cultivator is when the ground is covered 
with tiny weeds, just appearing above the surface, 
whether it has been six days or sixteen days since 
the last tillage. A delay of three or four days, or 
until the young weeds get their roots established 
two or three inches deep, means that many of them 
will not be uprooted by the cultivator. That is 
the beginning of a foul field. The profit in growing 
ordinary farm crops depends largely upon the 
farmer's ability to do as much of the work as pos- 
sible with horse labour, which is cheap, and as 
little as possible with manual labour, which is 
dear. Many farmers have demonstrated that it is 
easier and cheaper to kill weeds with the culti- 
vator than to let many of them grow large and 
then be obliged to hoe and pull them. More culti- 
vations are necessary, but less hoeings. 

When Weeds Get a Start. — Weeds are most apt 
to get a start during the interval between the time 
that the crop is planted and when it is up. The 
season may be cold and backward, and ten days 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 161 

or two weeks may intervene. At the end of this 
time ground which was mellow and weedless when 
planted is covered with a dense mat of small weeds. 
Most of these can be worked out with a cultivator, 
but some of them are already rooted so firmly 
that the cultivator teeth do not uproot them. 
From this beginning may be traced the growth of 
many a weedy field. In recent years farmers and 
gardeners have come to appreciate more fully the 
advantages of harrowing the soil once or twice 
before the crop is up. Weeders are also used; 
in small home gardens an iron rake answers 
very well. In this way the crop starts off clean 
instead of foul. Where freedom from weeds is as 
important as it is in growing onions the rows are 
sometimes marked by sowing a few radish seeds 
with the onions; these sprout long before the 
onions and show where the scuffle hoe can go be- 
fore the onions are up. 

When the crop is "laid by," or after the last 
cultivation, is another dangerous time for the prop- 
agation of weeds. The cultivation of many crops 
is stopped in early or mid-summer, either because 
the tops are so large that it would injure them to 
crowd between the rows with a cultivator, as for 
potatoes; or because it benefits the plant to grow 
more slowly during the latter part of the season, as 
for fruits. This period of relaxation on the 
part of the farmer becomes the busy season of some 
weeds. They crowd in beneath the crop and get 
so firmly established that many of them are on hand 
to bother the farmer after the next spring plowing. 
If perennial weeds are allowed to make leaves at 
any time during the summer or fall they are likely 
to appear again next spring. There are two ways 
of handling this difficulty: one is to keep the weeds 



162 SOILS 

cut out with a hoe during the latter part of the 
season; the other is to sow some catch crop at the 
time of the last cultivation, to catch and use the 
leaching plant food and water, to keep the soil 
from washing and to crowd out weeds. Both are 
worth being considered by the man who wishes 
to keep his farm clean. 

Weed Collectors. — There are other ways of 
helping to keep down weeds besides cultivation. 
One of the most important is to change the crop, 
which is discussed fully under rotation of crops in 
Chapter XI. Another is to keep fence rows, 
corners, pastures and all waste places about the 
farm clean. The fence row around the field is 
often full of the very weeds that the farmer is 
fighting by cultivation. Never allow bad weeds to 
go to seed in these places; mow them frequently. 
A much better plan, however, is to dispense with 
the fence, and other weed-catching obstructions, as 
much as possible. Fences and walls are unsightly 
and they are a nuisance unless they serve the 
necessary purpose of keeping out stock. 

There are many more fences in this country 
than there is any need of, especially in the 
older Eastern States. Riding over certain parts 
of New England, one would think that the 
farmers of a generation or two ago put in most 
of their spare time building stone walls, so 
checker-boarded is the country with them. Of 
course the stones had to be picked off the land, but 
surely there was a cheaper way of disposing of them 
than by laying them up into walls five feet high 
and three feet thick, around every two or three acres 
of the farm ; to say nothing of the amount of land 
thus covered and made useless. It is good to see 
the present reaction from fence and wall building 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 163 

No more of them are being built now than are 
needed to confine stock, and portable fences are 
being used more and more. This adds much to 
the sightliness and convenience of the farm and 
much, also, to its freedom from weeds. 

The Prevalence of Weeds in Sown Crops. — ■ 
Weeds are most apt to overrun a place when 
crops are grown that permit of no cultivation. 
Witness for example, the devastation of the Canada 
thistle, Russian thistle, devil's paint brush, etc., in 
the grain fields of the Mississippi Valley. Pro- 
fessor I. P. Roberts says, "It is believed that the 
time is not far distant when wheat, oats, barley, 
and indeed all grains that are now broadcasted or 
drilled, will receive inter-cultural tillage similar to 
that now given to maize (corn), and this will not be 
by hand, as in some portions of Europe, but by 
horse-hoe tillage." This time is a long way off 
in America, where tillable land is abundant and 
cheap, but undoubtedly the drift is in that direction 
— fewer plants per acre, more tillage, larger yields. 
When the cereals, now more grievously affected 
with weeds than hoed crops, are brought under 
this system of culture, they will be relieved from 
weeds by the magic that lies in cultivator teeth. 
Over three centuries ago quaint Thomas Tusser 
expressed one of the most important facts in the 
agriculture of his times, and of ours, in the couplet : 

"Good tilth brings seeds, 
III tilture, weeds." 

CULTIVATION TO SAVE WATER 

In the humid sections of our country, if the season 
is fairly wet one does not need to worry much 
about cultivating to save water early in the season. 



164 SOILS 

If he cultivates as often as the weeds poke them- 
selves above ground, which they do with astonish- 
ing alacrity and in countless numbers after each 
tillage, he will have established the best kind of a 
water-saving mulch. This is especially true in a 
wet May, and most especially true in a muggy, 
thundery July, when "pusley" starts up from the 
ground and grows a foot long in a single night, so 
it seems to our disheartened eyes. But there are 
times when cultivation is necessary and profitable, 
when we have few if any weeds to spur us to the 
exertion. This is apt to be the case during a sum- 
mer drought when the soil is dried out several 
inches deep and the weed seeds in the surface soil 
cannot get moisture enough even to germinate. 
There are few if any sections of the country where 
it is not necessary at some time, during an average 
season, to cultivate for the explicit and sole purpose 
of preventing the loss of soil water. One season, 
however, may be so wet that the cultivation that 
prevents weediness is all that is necessary; the 
next season may be so dry that the cry of the crop 
is continuous and loud for more water, rather 
than for less weeds. 

Sigris of the Need of Cultivation to Save Water. — 
It is not difficult to tell when it will pay to cultivate, 
even when there are not enough weeds to justify it 
on that score. One has only to examine the sur- 
face soil. If it is hard, baked, cracked, or even if 
it has only a thin crust, there is work to be done. 
Soil water passes off rapidly into the air only so 
long as the surface soil is compact. If this is 
loosened the water cannot creep readily from 
grain to grain, and so is held below the layer of 
loose soil. 

The first aim of the cultivator, then, especially 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 165 

when his plants are trying to weather a dry 
season should always be to keep a few inches of 
loose soil on top of the ground. When it gets 
compacted again, as it always does after a while, 
loosen it again, weeds or no weeds. Eventually the 
loosened soil falls back into place and becomes com- 
pacted again by its own weight; but one slight rain 
will make more of a crust over it than two weeks 
of settling. That is why it is more difficult to pre- 
serve a soil mulch in humid regions than in the 
semi-arid sections of the West. Where there is 
no rain whatever during three or four months 
of the growing season there is not much diflS- 
culty in making and keeping a most efficient 
dust mulch. In the East, where the cultivation 
of one day may lose half its value because of 
a slight shower the following night, it is a more 
tedious job. However, the Western man needs a 
better mulch — he has much less water to use and 
has to guard it jealously. 

How Often to Cultivate. — There can be no rule 
as to the frequency of cultivation for saving water 
except this: cultivate often enough to keep the 
surface soil at least fairly mellow and free from 
crust. To do this may take eight cultivations one 
year and twelve the next year, on the same field. 
An adjoining field, with soil having a greater ca- 
pacity to hold water, may give equal results from 
half as much tillage. 

The reliable guides are the way the crops grow 
and the condition of the soil. When the corn 
leaves begin to curl in the heat of the day, when the 
lower leaves of the peas begin to shrivel and droop, 
when the potatoes look dispirited and the sugar 
beets droopy, the time has come for some energetic 
work. If the ground is hard, loosen it deeply with 



166 SOILS 

a shovel-tooth cultivator and smooth it off with 
a spike- tooth cultivator afterward. Repeat this 
with the latter tool often enough to keep a mulch 
over the roots of the plants that will preserve 
the coolness and water that have been lost to them 
before. The results of a few extra cultivations in 
a dry season, as seen in the corn bin or cotton 
basket, are sufficient to convert any man to the 
wisdom of mulch-tillage, even when weed-tillage 
is not needed. 

HOW DEEP TO CULTIVATE 

Within ten or fifteen years there has been a very 
decided movement in favour of shallow cultivation. 
Experiments have shown quite conclusively that 
there is as much value, so far as preventing the 
escape of water is concerned, in two or three inches 
of loose, surface soil as in four or five inches. This 
pre-supposes, of course, that the tillage of prepara- 
tion — plowing and harrowing — has been thorough 
and timely so that the soil is loosened deeply and 
pulverised completely. The result has been that 
many of the old-fashioned, deep- working, hard- 
pulling and root-cutting cultivators have been 
relegated to the junk heap, and the shallow- working 
coulter and spike-tooth cultivators occupy their 
place in the tool shed. We do not hear so much 
about "plowing out" crops as formerly — they are 
cultivated. There are still many unwieldy, plow- 
like cultivators in use, especially in the cotton belt, 
but they are fast disappearing. 

If the soil has been thoroughly loosened and 
pulverised before the crop is planted there is no 
need of stirring it more than three inches deep, 
at the most, after that. Aside from the energy 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 167 

lost in increased draft, deep cultivation is wasteful 
of soil water, because it brings to the surface a 
large amount of moist soil which soon becomes 
dry. The moisture in this soil might better have 
been left below where it could have been used by 
plants. Moreover, a deep- working cultivator 
leaves the soil in ridges, thus exposing more sur- 
face for evaporation; for some water is lost from 
the soil even when it is covered with the very best 
mulch. Furthermore, the valleys made by deep 
cultivation are the beginning of erosion. 

Deep cultivation may cut many of the feeding 
roots of the crop. The roots of plants naturally 
seek the richest part of the soil. The soil near 
the surface usually contains the most plant food, 
because so much soluble plant food has been left 
there by the evaporation of soil water, and be- 
cause the surface soil contains more humus, more 
germ life, more air and more of everything that 
makes for fertility. 

In all ordinary soils the largest proportion of 
feeding roots is found immediately below the range 
of cultivator teeth, provided that part of the soil 
is in good texture. In a warm climate plants root 
deeper than in a cool climate. Deep cultivation 
during the growing season cuts off innumerable 
rootlets and root hairs that are foraging in the 
richest places they can find. To "plow out" a 
corn field four or five inches deep, in July, is to 
practise root pruning of a severe character. Some 
farm crops do not seem to be injured appreciably 
by this kind of root pruning, but none are benefited 
by it, and some are injured. Deep tillage may 
be given the crop early in the season, if necessary, 
but shallow tillage after it begins to shoot. When- 
ever the soil becomes hard, as after a beating rain. 



168 SOILS 

a deep cultivation may be needed. Crops that 
root deeply, as fruit trees, can be tilled more deeply 
than crops that are shallow-rooted. The aim 
should be to keep the soil water from getting above 
that part of the soil in which the roots feed most. 
The safest and best general practice, according 
to present information, is to fit the land deeply and 
thoroughly before planting, and to cultivate not 
over three inches deep thereafter, and sometimes 
less. A loose, dry mulch three inches deep is as 
valuable a water-saver and weed-preventer as one 
five inches deep. However, when a soil becomes 
compact beneath the surface, as clayey soils are 
very apt to from the tramping above, it is certainly 
wise to stir it deeply. 

THE ADVANTAGE OF LEVEL CULTURE 

In earlier years nearly all crops were hilled or 
ridged when cultivated. Now there is a strong 
preference for level culture whenever practicable. 
This preference is based on two facts; that level 
culture is obviously easier and cheaper; and that 
less water is lost since it exposes the minimum 
amount of soil surface to the air for evaporation. 
How much more surface is exposed when the 
soil is left like this A than when it is left like 
this — ? 

Probably the chief reason why the farmers and 
gardeners of a generation ago hilled their corn, pota- 
toes, and beans, ridged their cotton and planted their 
onions, carrots, and parsnips in raised beds, more 
than at present, is because farm soils were not then 
as well drained as they are now, there being 
comparatively little under-drainage at that time. 
There are but two occasions for ridging land: 



HARROWING, CULTIVATING 169 

when the soil is poorly drained, and when the crop 
needs banking to secure a special result, as celery 
to blanch the stalks, or potatoes to protect the 
tubers that crowd out of the ground from being 
sun-scalded. If potatoes are planted deeply enough, 
however, all the tubers will form below the surface 
and hilling is unnecessary. 

In the Southern States it is often thought neces- 
sary to use two long narrow blades or "sweeps" 
which cut large weeds just below the surface and 
ridge the soil somewhat. In the same section a 
cultivator with one broad blade, quite similar to a 
plow, is used to throw enough soil over the large 
weeds at the base of the corn or cotton plants to 
smother them. This leaves the plants on rather 
high ridges. It is extremely doubtful if the practice 
is wise except, perhaps, on the heavier and wetter 
soils. 

If corn, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, melons, 
okra, peppers, cotton, and other heat-loving plants 
are grown upon land that is inclined to be some- 
what cold and wet it may pay to hill or ridge them ; 
but there is abundant evidence that on soils that are 
even fairly well drained this Dractice is a disad- 
vantage. Very wet soils, especially creek bottom 
land and meadow muck, are often cultivated in 
ridges, beds, or hills with excellent results. In all 
cases the ridges should be no higher than is nec- 
essary to accomplish the purpose for which they are 
made. Not only should hilling and ridging be 
dispensed with on soils that are rather deficient in 
moisture, but also the surface should be left as 
level as possible, by using a shallow-working, narrow- 
tooth cultivator. In a wet season it may pay to use 
a deep-working, ridge-forming cultivator, on a soil 
that is normally so dry that level culture is best for 



170 SOILS 

it. Likewise it may be wise to use a ridge-making 
cultivator in early spring on some soils, to warm 
and dry them, and replace this with a shallow- 
working cultivator after the crop is well started and 
the temperature of the soil is higher. 

PREVENTING LOSS OF WATER FROM SOD 

How to prevent the loss of soil water in sod land 
is a more difficult problem, but something can 
be done. A dressing of manure not only en- 
riches the soil but also acts as a mulch to it, 
preventing much water from escaping from the 
bare places between the plants. The gist of the 
whole philosophy of treating sod land, so as to get 
full benefit from the water in it, is to have no bare 
or unshaded places. If the grass plants stand so 
thickly that all the surface is shaded, most of the 
water lost from the soil passes off into the air through 
the plants, much to our profit. But if the meadow 
is getting worn out, and needs reseeding, a large 
part of the soil water is lost by evaporation from 
the bare places between the tufts of grass. Weeds, 
daisies, dock, thistles and the like may take pos- 
session of these bare places that appear in the sod 
ground when the grass roots begm to get weak; 
then the loss of water is greater. In handling sod 
land so as to get the most value from the water 
in it, endeavour to force most of this water 
through the grass plants, by keeping the turf 
dense and clean through occasional plowing and 
reseeding, and by top-dressing. It is quite possible 
to have a sod too thick, the result being that many 
weak grass stalks of poor quality are produced, 
but turf that is too thick is not nearly as common as 
turf that is too thin. 



CHAPTER VIII 



ROLLING, PLANKING, HOEING 

FARMERS have long noticed that grain 
sprouts quickest wherever the horses' hoofs 
have trod. Gardeners have observed the 
benefits of walking above newly planted vegetable 
seeds. They have noticed, also, that the soil on 
the bottom of the hoof track or foot print is more 
moist than adjacent soil. The conclusion has 
been that compacting the surface soil makes it 
more moist; this view is held by many farmers. 
Rolling, which had its origin in these observations, 
is practised by many with the idea that it increases 
the amount of moisture in the soil. 

ROLLING TO ASSIST GERMINATION 

The chief object of rolling on many soils is to 
increase the amount of water supplied to the ger- 
minating seeds, but rolling does not actually in- 
crease the total amount of w^ater in the soil; it 
diminishes it. Rolling compacts the surface soil, 
bringing the particles closer together so that film 
water passes upward more readily and is lost by 
evaporation. But while passing upward much of 
it comes into contact with the seeds and is absorbed 
by them; thus the seeds are supplied with more 
moisture and germinate quicker and better, even 
though it is at the expense of a loss of water to the 
soil. Since so much of the success of a crop 

171 



172 SOILS 

depends upon quiek germination, we can afford, 
on some soils and in some seasons, to sacrifice 
a good deal of water for the sake of gaining this 
imf)ortant resnlt. 

The soil at the .bottom of the hoof-mark or foot- 
print is more moist than the surrountling soil be- 
cause it is more compact and losing more water by 
evaporation, having no mulch above it. '^I'he soil 
in a field that has been rolled is more moist on top 
than if it had not been rolled, but the soil below the 
compacted portion, from five to twenty inches 
deep, is nuich dryer than it would have been had 
the surface been left loose. In other words, the 
upjicr five or more inclies of soil have been made 
more moist, by rolling, at the expense of the soil 
beneath. Within twenty-four hours iifter rolling this 
difference can be noticed. Part of the loss of mois- 
ture from rolled soil is due to the fact that the surface 
is left very level and smooth, so that it offers less 
obstruction to the wind. The velocity at which the 
wind passes over rolled ground may be nearly 
twice as great as on rough, unrolled ground. This 
means that nuich more moisture is sucked from the 
soil by the wind. 

When ItolliiKj to Assist Germination is Practicable. 
— The farmer must decide whether the gain from 
rollinjr, in better germination, is "greater than 
the loss, in the reduction of the total amount 
of water available for the growth of the crop. 
That depends upon the rainfall and upon the 
moisture-holding capacity of the soil. Rolling 
for tlie purpose of assisting germination is of 
greatest value on the lighter, looser and coarse- 
grained soils, especially the sands and sandy 
loams. These are so open that the air may circu- 
late through the surface soil quite freely, drying it 



ROLLING, l^LANKING, AND HOEING 173 

and stealing water that the seeds need. They 
are so loose and eoarse-grained that the seeds are 
not sufficiently in contact with the soil to absorb 
enough water from it. Rolling very light soils is 
not only an aid to germination, but may also in- 
crease their caj)acity to hold water, providing they 
are covered with a mulch afterward. It is rarely 
necessary or practicable to roll clay soils for the 
purpose of su[)plying more moisture to assist ger- 
mination, but they are often rolled to accomplish 
other results. 

Making a Mulch after Rolling. — Most of the 
rolling now done is on land that has been seeded 
to grain or grass, and it is done immediately after 
the seed has been harrowed in. In a majority 
of cases the surface is left compact, as it comes from 
the roller, and remains so through the season. This 
is a waste of water. A way to secure all the })enefit 
of rolling and avoid all the disadvantages is to 
make a shallow mulch on the surface after rolling. 
Rolling com[)acts from five to twenty-four inches 
of soil; if the upper inch or two are loosened into 
a mulch, the water drawn up from below as a 
result is })re vented from escaping and most of the 
seeds get the benefit of it as well. This means that 
whenever the loss of water by rolling is a detri- 
ment, as on light dry soils, the roller should be 
followed by a very shallow-working harrow, as a 
spike-tooth harrow with the teeth slanting back- 
ward, or a weeder. 

In some parts of the country a brush drag is used 
for this purpose. This is usually made of six or 
eight small white birch trees, twelve to eighteen 
feet long. The butt ends of these are fastened 
into a 2 X 4 inch end piece, at such a distance 
apart that the trees lie side by side and cover 



174 SOILS 

an area of ground about eight to ten feet wide. 
When dragged over a newly seeded and rolled 
field the tough twiggy branches stir the surface 
soil thoroughly to the depth of one to two 
inches, making a very effective shallow mulch 
after a heavy rolling. It is better to defer making 
the mulch for twenty-four hours after rolling, by 
which time the moisture will have come to the 
surface. 

Other Illustrations of the Principle of Rolling. — 
The practice of making a mulch after rolling sowed 
land is not common. Most farmers who roll their 
seeding leave it so. When rainfall is liberal and 
the soil is fairly heavy and retentive, so that the 
saving of water is not a first consideration, this is 
probably the best plan. But if the summer rain- 
fall is insufficient and the soil quite open, it will 
usually pay to harrow or brush afterward. On the 
other hand, the practice of making a mulch after 
rolling, or otherwise compacting land that is to be 
put into hoed crops, is necessarily very common. 
In fitting sandy soils it is well to roll them before 
the last narrowing. 

In garden operations there are numerous and 
forceful illustrations of the value of establishing a 
mulch above compacted soil. When I was little 
more than half as high as a hoe handle, and 
helped my father plant corn, I used to wonder why 
he patted down the earth above the kernels and then 
scattered a hoeful of soil loosely on top of this. 
The gardener who makes a round melon hill, 
patted smooth on top and covered with loose soil, 
and who walks on his row of beets and then covers 
his tracks; the fruit grower who stamps the earth 
around the roots of the fruit tree he is planting but 
leaves it loose on top; the florist who presses his 



ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 175 

cineraria or petunia seeds into the soil with a board 
— all are illustrating, on a small scale, the phil- 
osophy of rolling. 

OTHER BENEFITS OF ROLLING 

The chief purpose of rolling, in ordinary farm 
practice, is to increase the supply of moisture for 
the seeds, but it may serve other useful purposes, 
or it may be used for these alone and not for mois- 
ture. Rolling to crush lumps is a profitable and 
common practice on soils which become cloddy. 
Great care must be taken, however, not to roll these 
soils when they arc wet, as they are then cemented 
into a hard crust by heavy rolling. There is a time 
between wetness and dryness when the clods 
crush easily; this is the time for rolling. The 
seeds are brought into close contact with the soil 
by rolling, while they might lie dry and unre- 
sponsive among the clods. Rolling heavy soils in 
spring after seeding is beneficial if the season is 
dry, but injurious if the season is wet. 

The benefits from crushing clods lie not only in 
the improvement of the soil conditions as affecting 
germination, but also in the liberation of the plant 
food that has been locked up in the lumps. Rol- 
ling heavy soils, when the chief object is to crush 
clods, is always attended with more or less un- 
certainty as regards its influence on the moisture 
of the soil; so it is usually preferable in such cases 
to break the lumps with a planker or clod-crusher 
instead of running the risks of rolling. An in- 
cidental benefit of rolling, on some soils, is that it 
presses all small stones on the surface into the 

f round, so that they will not interfere with 
arvesting. 



176 SOILS 

Rolling May Warm the Soil. — Rolling has a 
marked effect upon the temperature of the soil. 
It makes it warmer if the weather is clear and 
warm, but colder if the weather is cloudy and cold. 
King recorded an average difference of nearly three 
degrees between the rolled and the unrolled soil 
of the same field at a depth of three inches, the 
rolled soil being warmer. The soil becomes 
colder during cold weather and warmer during 
warm weather than if it were rolled, since on the 
unrolled field there is more surface exposed to the 
air. The more firmly a soil is packed on the sur- 
face the better does it conduct heat; so that during 
the night and during cold rainy weather the rolled 
land is colder at the surface than the unrolled land. 

Incidental Benefits of Rolling. — Incidental bene- 
fits of rolling in some cases are that it puts the soil 
into such a condition that other tools can handle 
it more effectively; it leaves the surface in better 
shape for marking; it smooths the soil so that 
small seeds may be distributed over it more evenly. 
Fall-sown grass, clover and grain are often rolled 
in very early spring to lessen the likelihood of 
injury from heaving by freezing and thawing and 
to make the surface smoother for mowing. These, 
however, are insignificant as compared with rolling 
for moisture and for crushing lumps. 

From the foregoing statements it is evident that 
rolling may be beneficial or detrimental, according 
to the soil and the season; it is a practice that 
must be used with discretion. In general, it 
may be said that rolling accomplishes two very 
useful purposes; it increases the water-holding 
capacity of light soils and aids the germination of 
seeds in them; and it crushes the lumps of cloddy 
soils. The tendency is to restrict the use of the 



ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 177 

roller to the first purpose on light soils, where firm- 
ing the soil is the chief result sought; and to use the 
planker for the latter purpose on heavy soils, 
where fining the soil is the end desired. More 
rolling is done on spring sown grain after the seed 
is harrowed in than for any other purpose. If the 
season is dry this gives excellent results; if it is 
wet and the soil is somewhat clayey the texture of 
the soil may be injured and a crust formed. If a 
cloddy clay soil is rolled after having been plowed 
when it is too wet the clods are likely to be pushed 
into the ground instead of being pulverised. In 
rolling, as in plowing, everything depends upon 
"catching the soil at the right time." 

THE KINDS OF ROLLERS 

When the main reason for rolling is to compact 
the soil, the roller should be as heavy as is ex- 
pedient. The larger it is in diameter the heavier 
it should be. It is well to have a roller of large 
diameter for it pulls easier in proportion to its 
weight. For ordinary purposes a roller should weigh 
at least 1,500 lbs. Wooden rollers, which are 
usually made in one, two or three sections, are 
cheap and quite effective, although many of them 
are light. Their rolling surface soon becomes 
rough, thus increasing the draft. Iron or steel 
rollers, which are usually in more than two sections, 
last longer, do better work and pull easier. The 
more sections a roller has the less it furrows the 
ground in turning around. Some iron rollers are 
made with teeth or with corrugated surfaces or 
blades; these are claimed to be more effective in 
breaking lumps, but they often clog badly, thus in- 
creasing the draft and decreasing the effectiveness. 



178 SOILS 

PLANKING * 

Closely allied to the roller in its effect upon the 
soil is the tool variously known as a planker, clod- 
crusher, smoother and sometimes as a drag, boat 
float or plank harrow. The terms '*drag," "float," 
and "boat," however, are more properly applied 
to the tool known as a "stone boat" in the East, 
which is about 2x5 feet, smooth on the bottom, not 
corrugated, and which is used, not for mellowing 
the soil but for hauling stones from the field, plows 
and harrows to the field and similar work. The 
planker is usually home-made and therefore is not 
uniform in construction. A few cultivators have 
planker or clod-crushing attachments. 

Nearly all home-made plankers are made of two 
hardwood planks about 2x8 inches and 6 to 8 feet 
long. Notches about two inches deep and eight 
inches apart are made in each of these bed pieces 
and into these are nailed or bolted 2-inch planks 
about six feet long, each plank overlapping the 
one next to it, like clapboards. Or several planks 
may be merely overlapped and bolted together. 
Some prefer to have a space of several inches be- 
tween the planks. This is pulled broadside and 
exerts a powerful pulverising and smoothing in- 
fluence on the surface, especially if weighted with 
a driver or stone ballast. 

The planker has very little compacting effect, as 
compared with the roller, because its much lighter 
weight is distributed over many square feet of sur- 
face; while all the weight of the roller rests upon 
the narrow line where its curved surface touches 
the soil. The planker is distinctly a clod-crushing 
and levelling implement. In this respect it resem- 
bles the harrows and is very properly called a 



ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 179 

plank harrow. The planker is now used where 
the roller was formerly — to crush the lumps on 
heavy loams and clay soils that do not need com- 
pacting. On tenacious soils it is a common 
practice to use the disk harrow after plowing, fol- 
lowed by the planker, the Acme or spike-tooth 
harrow and then the planker again, alternating 
harrowing and planking the soil until it is brought 
into the right condition. The last turn should be 
with the planker, as it leaves the surface mellow 
and smooth, so that fine seeds may be sown or the 
land marked out for planting. 

The planker breaks up many of the small lumps 
that slip through harrow teeth and presses others 
into the ground where they can be torn out and 
broken to pieces by the subsequent harrowing. 
The planker is one of the most useful tools that any 
farmer can have, especially if the soil is somewhat 
heavy. It is never used to compact the soil around 
the seeds, as a roller, but is always used like a 
harrow — as a pulveriser and leveller after plowing. 
It is superior for this purpose to the roller; it 
should be used in place of the roller in all cases but 
two; upon light soils which need compacting and 
upon seeding. 

HOEING 

In primitive agriculture the plow and the hoe 
were about the only tillage tools used. Of late 
years the hoe has been used less and less as an 
implement of tillage. It has been forced aside by 
the increasing necessity for doing as much of the 
work on the farm as possible with horse power. 
The harrow, the cultivator and the weeder now do 
much of the work that was formerly done with the 



180 



SOILS 



lioc and (In il iiiiicli iK^lliM'. It is ii()ti(-(-al>l(' tluit 
when* lumd labour is <lica|), as in parts ol" [\\v South, 
a iiiikIi lar;j^«'r j)ro|>oi tioii ol llic I'ariii tilK-t^c is (lone 
with th<' hoc ihaii where lahour is dear, as it is in 
most parts of (he North and West. A uc^ro and 
a hoe is one ol" the typical scenes ol" I he Sontii. 
It is likely that Ihe hoe will IxHoine ol" slill less 
importance in larmin^, us we learn better ways of 
circnmvenlii\«;" ihe w»'eds helore lli<\y are bi^jj 
and as wc are lorccil lo pirfect other means 
of jj^rowin^ crops wilh as Iillle hand labour as 
possd)le. 

Aside from its use as an aid to j)laiilin^, which 
is constantly lessened by the increasing use of planl- 
in<j^ machines, Ihe hoe will always be useful for two 
purposes; lo kill lar^c weeds thai ha\'e cs(a|)ed Ihe 
<*ultivalor and lo shr Ihe soil close lo Ihe plants 
when' Ihe cullivalor leelh caimot work wilhout 
daii«;er ol" injurMi^ Ihe planls. The hoe is a very 
poor tool for making a mulch; it stirs the ground 
(h'cplv m SOUK' plax'cs, li^hlly m others anil usuallv 
parls ol" Ihe surLn'c are h'lt wholly undislurbed, or 
arc rais<Ml slii;hlly by Ihe passing of Ihe l)lade be- 
neath Ihem. Il <loes not lil'l, crumble and invert 
Ihe s<»il, as do cullivalor Icilh, unless Ihe soil is very 
mellow and dry. As an impleiUiMit lor conserving 
moisture, llu>rel"ore, Ihe hoe should be used only 
where a cullival<)r «aimol be used; thai is, close 
to the planls. 

Uoc'nuj lo Kill U'c('(ls. I*\»r killing; lar^e weeds 
the hoe has no e<|ual, but this is an expensive way 
of killiuii; Ihem. Most ol' them can be kilUil when 
very small by I'nMpient shallow cullivalion. There 
aw various slyles of <ullivalor h'clh and allach- 
menls lo cultivators Ihal are desiirned to skim be- 
low Ihe surface and cut oil" laro-e weeds. These 



R()LI>IN(;, PLANKINC;, AND IIOKINCi IHl 

wings, sw('e[)s :iii<i olhcr special vvccd-killino- dc- 
vi('(^s slioiild he ;i pjirt of every I'arin e(|iii|)ineiit; 
if used in lime lliey should reduce the area tiiat 
needs hoeing to the f)arts adjacent to the rows. 
Here is where tlie hoc; rrnist Ik; used, es|)ecijilly if 
it is found desirahle to ri<lge the rows. With soni<; 
croj)S the weeds that start between th<; plants can 
be killed when very small by using the; s|)ik<'- 
tooth harrow or weeder over the entire siirface. 
But af I.er tin; phmts are too large for this it is a strug- 
gle to keep down the weeds in tlu; rows. 'I'hey 
g(;t a start clos(t to the [>la,nts and gradually (;n- 
eroaeh upon tin; cultivated area. It is then time 
to "cut out" th(; rows; and it is likely the work- 
man will ha,v<' to pull sonn; of them by hand, so 
closely an; their roots and stems entwined with 
the croj). 

(j(H)d (vnd Poor I /oc/i/ny/. The easiest and most 
ra[>i(l way to ho<; is to barely skim tlu; ground 
with the blade at a very sliglit angle to tlie sur- 
Ui('A% scarcely disturbing the soil, but cutting off 
the weeds. 'J'he hardest and slowest way to hoe 
is to strike the blade into the ground at a sliarp 
anghi, lifting and turning two or three inclxts of 
soil. TIk; forrrKT is preferable on the light(;r and 
looser soils, the latter on the heavier soils and 
(^specially wh(;n the ground about tlxr plants has 
become (;om|)acted by rains or tram[)if)g. Some 
men use the; hoe as they would a pi(;k; it do(;s little 
good in tfiis way so far as conserving moisture is 
con(;(;rncd. As a geru^ral rule, hoeing, like culti- 
vating, should be deeper in spring than insunini(;r, 
an<l for the sann; reasons. 

It is as much an art to hoe well as to cultivate 
well, and sometimes just as much depends upon it. 
Not one man in ten g(;ts as rrujch out of a noe as 



182 SOILS 

there is in it. It is not enough to hoe merely to 
kill weeds, it should also save soil water and secure 
all the other benefits of tillage. This means that 
the soil should be stirred around the plants to a 
nearly uniform depth, not merely stabbed deeply 
in places and a thin layer of loose soil scattered over 
the unstirred soil between. It also means that the 
surface should be left nearly level, not in hog- 
troughs. Many farmers who are careful enough 
with their cultivating are slovenly with their hoeing. 
Market gardeners, however, have learned that it 
pays to put as thorough a man at work with the 
hoe as with the cultivator, 

Styles of Blades. — The blade of the hoe used in 
general farming does not vary much in size and 
shape. The essential thing is to keep it sharp and 
bright, which it will not be if hung up in the apple 
tree all winter. The business hoe makes frequent 
visits to the grindstone. As a general rule the blade 
on a new hoe is too broad to work handily; when 
it gets worn down an inch or two, it cuts the 
soil easier and better. Hoe blades having rounded 
teeth on the cutting edge are preferred by some. 
Some gardeners have many hoes of different sizes 
and shapes, some of them with blades only an inch 
wide for picking out weeds between vegetables; 
or with the handle inserted between two blades of 
different widths. Others are shaped like a narrow 
triangle; or heart-shape, with the lower end 
notched; or with the blade reduced to the merest 
hook, so that a stray weed can be tweaked from 
the ground with a twist of the wrist. The handles 
of some of these aristocratic hoes are knobbed on 
the end and variously curved. This is too gingerly 
work for most of us. The old-style hoe blade, 
about three and one-half inches by six inches, 







3^ 



w 

> 

Q 
-< 

W ~ ° 

-s 3 






1).— 




03. A CLODDY SOIL THAT WOULD BE BEKEFITED BY ROLLING 

If the himps are crushed, the soil fits tighter around the seeds, and there is more feeding 
surface for the roots ■ 




64. A FOUR-SECTION IRON ROLLER WEIGHTED 
The more sections a roller has the less it cuts into the ground in turning 



ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 183 

answers every purpose when used with timehness 
and thoroughness. 

MISCELLANEOUS HAND TOOLS 

There is an almost endless variety of hand tillage 
tools designed to be used when the rows are too 
close together to admit of horse tillage or for work- 
ing close to the plants. These are of far greater 
relative importance in gardening, especially in 
market gardening, than in general farming, be- 
cause gardening is usually conducted imder more 
intensive culture than general farming. Wheel 
hoes, hand cultivators, scuffle hoes, hand weeders 
and the like are indispensable in commercial or 
home gardens, but rarely needful on farms where 
staple crops are grown, because these must be 
grown with as little hand-labour as possible in order 
to make them pay. Moreover, the hand tools can 
be used to best advantage only on soil that is 
exceedingly mellow and free from stones — a con- 
dition that many farms cannot meet. In short, 
they are tools for intensive culture; hence they are 
of greater value to the gardener, who is forced to 
locate very near his market on valuable land, and 
who must adopt intensive culture in order to make 
the business pay, than for the farmer who grows 
staple crops, and who can locate further from the 
market on cheaper land where such intensive 
methods are not needed. 

It is noticeable that even in gardening operations 
the tendency is more and more to dispense with 
hand tools. Crops that were formerly planted in 
rows twelve or fifteen inches apart, so that tillage 
had to be done by hand, are now frequently planted 
in rows twenty-eight or thirty inches apart so that 



184 SOILS 

the cultivator may run between them. Some 
horses have a mathematical eye and will keep their 
feet between rows two feet apart without leading; 
and the spike- tooth cultivator can be narrowed to 
work between these rows, thus saving much wheel 
hoeing and hand hoeing. It is harder and much 
slower work to push a wheel or scuffle hoe than to 
follow a cultivator. There are conditions, however, 
when close planting may be desirable, as in the 
home garden or in market gardens close to towns, 
or for certain crops that thrive best when the 
plants partially shade each other, as onions and root 
crops. 

Hand Cultivators. — Nearly all hand-tillage tools 
beside hoes may be classified as hand cultivators, 
scuffle hoes or scarifiers, and hand weeders. Hand 
cultivators, erroneously called wheel-hoes, are of a 
great variety of patterns, but all attempt to do the 
work of a cultivator on a small scale. The larger 
the wheel and the wider the tire the easier it over- 
rides obstacles. Those with two wheels are 
steadier, and also useful for straddling the row and 
cultivating on both sides. Several styles of inter- 
changeable teeth are usually sent with each tool, 
including spike teeth, coulter teeth, hillers or 
ridging sweeps and a large furrowing shovel. A. 
hand cultivator does excellent work in mellow soil; 
it is one of the most serviceable of gardening tools. 
Many prefer it to the scuffle hoe for tilling onions, 
carrots, radishes, lettuce and other closely planted 
crops. 

Scuffle Hoes.— These are of service chiefly 
between rows planted less than fifteen inches 
apart, as onions, carrots and the like. They 
are made in various styles, but all have a single 
blade which is pushed with a jerky motion along 



ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 185 

the ground, cutting from one-half inch to one 
inch below the surface. The blade varies from 
half an inch to four inches in diameter and is 
rectangular, crescent or looped. The style most 
commonly used is attached to a long straight handle. 
A better style for some purposes is attached behind 
a wheel, thus becoming in reality a wheel hoe. 
The handle style is better after the tops of the 
plants begin to lean toward the middle of the row. 

The scuffle hoe, like the common hoe, is a poor 
tool for making a mulch, but a most excellent tool 
for killing weeds. It barely skims the ground, 
cutting off weeds just below the surface and run- 
ning very close to the row; but the soil is not in- 
verted or loosened much. Very often it is simply 
sliced. An excellent plan for tilling close planted 
crops is to alternate the hand cultivator and the 
scuffle hoe. They complement one another; the 
former makes a mulch, but some of the larger 
weeds may slip through its teeth; the latter cuts 
off the weeds, but is a poor mulch-making tool. 

In addition to these larger hand tools there are 
many kinds of hand weeders for even finer work. 
Some are patterned after the original hand weeder, 
— the outspread fingers. Others are scuffle hoes 
with a small blade and short handle. Where it is 
necessary to do much hand weeding close to the 
plants, and it sometimes is in market gardening, 
these little tillage tools will save the fingers and 
facilitate the work. 

SELECTING FARM TOOLS 

Before leaving the subject of tillage tools, a word 
about the selection and care of farm tools in general 
may not be amiss. The first cost of farm tools is 



186 SOILS 

high and they lose from 5 to 25 per cent, of their 
valuation every year, even with the best of care. 
They are a very expensive part of the farm equip- 
ment, more expensive in proportion to their utility 
than almost any other item in farm management. 
It is business policy to get along with just as few 
tools as possible. Many American farmers have 
too many. Some men seem to have a sort of 
mania for collecting everything new or unique in 
the way of tools. They lie around beneath the 
apple trees, back of the woodshed and beneath the 
eaves of the overcrowded tool shed, rapidly falling 
into disuse, then into rustiness and finally into 
rottenness. It is an expensive pastime. 

Every tool that is not used represents just so 
much capital, not tied up, but wasted. I know a 
farmer who has over twenty-five kinds of plows and 
harrows, yet he uses but six or seven in the work of 
his farm and finds these sufficient. He has at 
least $600 tied up in tools that he rarely uses and 
could get along without just as well. This is not 
business. The first cost of the few tools that are 
absolutely necessary is large enough and their 
depreciation rapid enough, without adding the 
weight of tools that are not needed. It is all right 
to try new tools if it can be afforded, but most 
people had better stick to the few tools that they 
have found necessary for satisfactory results. 

A Variety of Tools Needed.— These remarks 
about the common and needless waste on American 
farms because of a superfluity of tools are not 
meant to deny that a considerable variety of tools 
are needed on most farms. A good farmer, like 
a good mechanic, has a tool for every purpose, the 
best one to accomplish a certain specific result in 
handling the soil or crop, not one that is fairly 




i;: \ IHKEE-SECTION IRON ROLLER 

Iron rollers are more efficient and more lasting than wooden rollers and do not clog as 
much. They should weigh not less than i,ooo lbs. 




66. A HOME-MADE, THREE-SECTION WOODEN. ROLLER 
Note the device for keeping it clean. Wooden rollers quickly wear out 




•!-:'3 



W 2 3 






ROLLING, PLANKING, AND HOEING 187 

good for several purposes. He is not satisfied to 
use a spike-tooth harrow after the plow when a 
heavy disk harrow is needed to chop up the sod. 
He does not like to get along with a walking plow, 
however excellent work it may do, if a sulky plow 
will do the work as well, and easier and cheaper. 
To get each part of the farm work done in the best 
possible manner and at the least cost is the point 
that should decide the question of what kind of 
tools and how many. Five might do the work after 
a fashion; but if ten would do it enough better, 
quicker, easier and cheaper to more than pay for 
the cost of the other five it is economy and profit 
to have them. One-plow-one-harrow-one-culti- 
vator farmers are the kind that say "farming 
don't pay." 

Just how many tools it will pay to buy is, there- 
fore, a problem for each farmer to decide. He 
should not stint himself on those that are really 
necessary; a few bushels more corn per acre, the 
result of fitting the land better with a good tool, 
will pay for it in a single season. He should be 
careful not to indulge himself in tool getting, with- 
out sufficient justification for the outlay, however 
pleasurable that is to the man who loves to handle 
soil. First of all he will need to consider the kind 
of soil to be handled. Certain tools do better 
work on heavy soils than on light soils ; if the farm 
has several types of soils, as is most likely in north- 
ern United States, it may pay to keep tools for each. 
The crops to be grown will also determine to a 
large extent the types and number of tools needed. 
Finally the size of the farm or the area of the crop 
will determine whether it will pay to buy a certain 
useful tool to do a certain amount of work. This 
must be the deciding point. Often it would be 



188 SOILS 

extremely useful to have a certain tool, but the 
amount of work that it would be called upon to do 
is so small that it would not pay for itself. 

Tools represent so much capital and have such a 
vital relation to the productivity and economical 
management of the farm that the problem of what 
kinds to get and how many deserves more attention 
from farmers than is usually given it. 



CHAPTER IX 

DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 

NO OTHER farm practice has added to the 
value of agricultural lands in the eastern 
part of the United States more than under- 
drainage. Excess of water in the soil is as fatal 
to most farm crops as deficiency. A soil must 
be able to rid itself of surplus water before 
it can be cropped and it often happens that this is 
the only defect of many soils that are otherwise 
very valuable for farming. Fortunately it is 
usually quite practicable to remedy this defect by 
drainage. 

A Problem of the Eastern States. — Drainage is, 
for the most part, a problem of the states east of 
the Mississippi. Probably it would pay to under- 
drain from 20 to 30 per cent, of the farm land in this 
region. On the prairie lands of the central West 
under-drainage is practised more than in any other 
part of the country, and it has added immeasurably 
to the wealth of that section. West of the Mis- 
souri and Mississippi in general, and in the regions 
of scanty rainfall in particular, the drainage of lands 
is often necessary, especially on alkali soils, and is 
frequently used ; but it is insignificant when compared 
with the need of drainage in the humid regions 
of the East. What irrigation is to the West, drainage 
is to the East, although both are needed more or 
less each side of the great rivers. Until quite 
recently drainage has received the most attention 
in this country; now irrigation has come to the 

189 



190 SOILS 

fore and claims, and receives, its due. A large 
share of the unprecedented progress in x\merican 
agriculture during the past twenty-five years is due 
to the more general use of these two coordinate 
farm practices, each of which has the same general 
purpose in view — to give the crop an adequate 
and equable supply of moisture. 

The surplus water in a soil, which it is purposed 
to remove by drainage, all comes from rainfall; 
but rarely is it only that which falls upon the soil 
itself. The water may flow upon it as surface 
drainage from higher land, or it may come from 
below, being rain that has fallen upon higher land, 
sunk into the soil, followed a ledge of rock or layer 
of impervious soil, and finally found its way to the 
surface of the lower land as a spring, oozing from 
a hillside or bubbling up from the subsoil. Quite 
often level land which is not surrounded by higher 
land, and which contains only the water that falls 
upon it, is benefited by drainage because the soil 
is shallow. In such cases the most beneficial 
result of drainage may be, not to remove excess 
water, but to increase the amount of moisture that 
the soil can hold — a seeming paradox that is 
explained farther on. 

WHEN DRAINAGE IS NEEDED 

Two kinds of soils need draining; those that 
have too much water, and those that are too shal- 
low. The signs of poor drainage are obvious. 
Swamps, marshes, meadows and all other low land 
on which water stands for any considerable time 
may be drained, provided there is fall enough to 
secure an outlet. These low lands may be those 
which collect surface drainage, or seepage from 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 191 

nearby higher land: or they may be lands that 
are regularly flooded by fresh water or by tides. 
Farm land which dries out slowly in spring, mak- 
ing the working and growing season shorter, or on 
which water stands for a long time after heavy 
rains, needs to be drained. If water oozes into 
the plow furrow the soil is too wet for good farming. 

The kind of plants that take possession of a 
field, before it is broken up or after it has been 
laid down in sod, or after it has been neglected for 
a year or more, are usually a reliable index to its 
need of drainage. If bog and water-loving plants 
become established here and there, especially 
sedges, rushes and mosses, the soil is too wet. 
Certain spots in the field, usually the lowest places, 
will indicate their need of drainage in this way, 
although most of the field is all right. 

All of these surface indications, however, should 
be supplemented or verified by an examination of 
the water table. Dig a hole in the field from four 
to six feet deep. If water stands in this hole within 
three feet of the surface or less, during most of the 
growing season, it is quite certain that the roots of 
cultivated plants do not find enough room, air and 
warmth in that soil to produce the largest crops. 
The growth of the crops themselves supplies evi- 
dence. On poorly drained soils the plants start 
slowly, look sickly and stunted, and never make 
the profitable growth of neighbouring plants on 
well-drained soil. Both yield and quality are re- 
duced. Within the boundaries of one field there 
are often both well-drained and poorly drained 
places. The contrast in the growth of plants 
under these two conditions is usually sufficiently 
marked to impress the farmer with the need and 
profit of draining the land. 



192 SOILS 

Under-draining to Deepen Shallow Soils. — There 
is another class of soils — those that are shallow — that 
are improved by being drained, but these are not 
too wet except for short periods. First, there are 
the soils that have a hardpan close to the surface, 
perhaps within one to three feet. This hardpan 
may be a stratum of rock, but more often it is a 
layer of stiff and impervious clay. The rock hard- 
pan cannot be improved, but the clay hardpan 
can. Water cannot readily penetrate it. It is 
like the bottom of a shallow pan; when a heavy 
rain comes, the pan soon fills and overflows, making 
surface water. This can escape by surface drainage 
or by evaporation. But such a soil quickly 
dries out and suffers in a drought, because it 
has so little depth. What is needed is to deepen 
the soil — to lower the bottom of the pan — so that 
it will hold more water. 

There are two important ways of deepening a 
shallow soil. If the hardpan is close to the surface, 
stirring the surface with a subsoil plow helps, since 
it loosens the soil deeper than the plow, thus en- 
abling it to hold more water. But the loosened 
soil becomes compacted again in a few years; at 
best the results of subsoiling are only temporary. 
Under-drainage is permanent subsoiling; it takes 
away the water that has cemented the subsoil, and 
permits the air to enter it, thus promoting all the 
fining, loosening and mellowing influences of 
weatliering. The value of under-drainage for deep- 
ening a soil is witnessed on thousands of Eastern 
farms. 

Draining to Improve Texture. — Still another 
type of soils — those poor in texture — is often greatly 
benefited by being drained. These are mostly 
the clayey soils that get hard, lumpy, and 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 193 

unmanageable when dry, and sticky when wet. 
They are not what would be called wet soils, 
neither are they shallow, but they are not mellow 
and they run to extremes, either very dry or very 
wet. It is impossible to work them early in spring. 
Heavy rains put them in such a condition that 
they cannot be cultivated for several days after the 
crops begin to need tilling. The surface bakes 
and cracks. Such soils are improved by plowing 
under a green-manuring crop, by under-drainage, 
or by both. In many cases the addition of humus 
is sufficient to bring the soil into good heart; in 
extreme cases under-drainage must be called to the 
aid of humus. 

Land drainage is not chiefly concerned, as many 
suppose, with carrying off surplus water from very 
wet soils. Drainage adds far more to the value 
of farm soils, and to the profits in cropping them, 
by improving soils that are shallow, or in bad tex- 
ture, or but slightly wet, than by removing excess 
water from very wet soils. Many thousands of 
acres of swamps, meadows and marshes have been 
brought under profitable husbandry by drainage; 
but the combined area of these is very small com- 
pared with the hundreds of thousands of acres of 
farm lands that are not excessively wet, but that 
have been greatly improved by the same means. 
Drainage, and especially under-drainage, is of 
greatest service upon land already under cul- 
tivation, but which is not yielding maximum crops 
because of inequalities in the water supply. Far- 
mers should make a critical examination of 
each field in this respect, regardless of the 
length of time that it has been cultivated. 
Deficiencies may exist that never have been 
suspected. 



194 SOILS 

LAND WITH GOOD NATURAL DRAINAGE 

The foregoing remarks should not obscure the 
fact that in some cases it may be more practi- 
cable to buy land that has good natural drainage 
than to drain wet land. All farm soils need drain- 
ing; but fortunately most soils are well-drained 
naturally. There is a great area of American farm 
soils that have almost perfect natural drainage, 
and a still greater area of soils that are drained 
quite satisfactorily. These are mostly sandy or 
loamy soils, or soils rich in humus; and especially 
soils that have an open subsoil which is sandy, or 
gravelly or of about the same nature as the surface 
soil. Water passes through some of these soils 
so readily that they can be worked a few hours 
after a heavy rain. The bulb fields near 
Puget Sound, Washington, have a soil so open 
that men can work in it within an hour after a 
rainfall of over one inch; yet it is very retentive 
and moist at all times. The causes of this very 
equable condition are the large amount of humus 
that the surface soil contains, and the subsoil of 
fine, sandy loam. 

One of the first points to look after when buying 
farm land, then, is its drainage, for Nature can 
drain land much cheaper than man. Dig several 
holes, five or six feet deep, to see what kind of 
subsoil lies beneath the surface that looks so 
promising. The value of a soil for cropping de- 
pends almost as much upon the former as upon 
the latter. The "lay of the land" is also impor- 
tant. Sloping land is not necessarily well-drained 
land. A slope may provide good drainage, and 
it may not. It carries off much excess water as 
surface drainage, to be sure, but we wish the soil 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 195 

drained for at least four feet below the surface. 
Some of the most poorly drained farm soils are 
on slopes. They are usually clayey and may 
have springs oozing from them. In other words, 
a slope is an aid to good drainage, but the 
nature of the soil and its elevation with refer- 
ence to surrounding land are far more important 
factors. 

WHEN IT WILL PAY TO DRAIN LAND 

Not all land that would be greatly benefited by 
being drained will it pay to drain. It is a question of 
economics as well as of securing maximum pro- 
ductiveness. It might be more practicable, for 
example, to put a certain field of hard and rather 
wet soil into grass, which usually grows fairly well 
under these conditions, or at least better than most 
other farm crops, than to go to the expense of 
draining it for corn, cotton or rye. The more 
exacting the crop, as regards an equable supply 
of moisture, the more likely is it that it will pay 
to drain the land. Likewise the higher the value 
of land, and the more intense the culture, the 
greater are the arguments for drainage. 

Again, it might pay to drain land used for 
special crops which have a high value per acre, as 
market-garden crops, when it would not pay to 
drain this land if it were planted to staple crops, 
which have a lower value per acre. Furthermore, 
it might not pay to drain a certain field if the far- 
mer has plenty of other land which is better drained, 
and land is cheap. Much also depends upon the 
kind of soil, and the difference between its present 
value and its value after being drained. The same 
system of drainage may add $10 per acre to the 



196 SOILS 

value of a poor soil, and $100 per acre to the value 
of rich soil. 

These, and other points in farm economics, 
should decide the practicability of draining land, 
after the need for draining it has been clearly 
proved. There is much farm land now producing 
indifferent crops, and the owners do not even sus- 
pect that its mediocrity is due to poor drainage. 
The first cost of draining land is large and the 
returns from the outlay are not immediate; they 
are distributed over many years. It may be 
several years before the drains have paid for them- 
selves. This fact is responsible for much of the 
hesitancy among farmers about undertaking an 
improvement that they readily admit is needed. 
They hate to "bury their money," or to put into 
the soil and out of sight an improvement the 
operation of which they cannot watch. The same 
argument, however, might be raised against the 
use of a fertiliser; the operation of neither can be 
watched, but the effects of both are readily seen. 
There is a deepening interest in farm drainage 
as land increases in value and as it becomes 
correspondingly necessary to make plants comfort- 
able, so that they may be grown at the lowest 
possible cost of production. 

EFFECT OF DRAINING ON THE SOIL 

The direct benefits of draining land have al- 
ready been pointed out in the chapters on the nature 
of the soil and on soil water. The most important 
result is that it makes the soil warmer. A wet 
soil is cold, chiefly because the water in it is con- 
stantly evaporating, and evaporation is a cooling 
process. To illustrate this: If the bulb of one 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 197 

thermometer is covered with wet musHn, and the 
bulb of another similar thermometer is left im- 
covered, the wet thermometer may register as 
much as 15 degrees cooler when both are swung 
in dry air. This is due to the cooling effect of the 
evaporation of the water. Moreover, water is a 
poor conductor of heat; wet soils warm in the sun 
slowly, because the water they contain holds 
down the temperature. There is usually a 
difference of 5 to 10 degrees between drained and 
undrained soil in the same field. In fact, the 
temperature of a soil in summer is veiy largely 
determined by the amount of water it contains; 
the wetter it is the colder it is. Warmth is one of 
the chief essentials for the germination and growth 
of farm crops ; it is the coldness of a poorly drained 
soil, more than the mere excess of water it con- 
tains, that is responsible for most of the unsatis- 
factory growth of crops upon it. 

Draining a soil allows the air to enter it more 
freely. If all the spaces between the soil grains 
are filled with water air cannot enter. Air is one 
of the most important agencies that help to make 
a soil productive. It changes the rock particles 
of the soil into plant food and is essential to the 
decay of plants in the soil, making humus. Seeds 
must have air or they will not germinate. The 
soil bacteria that make fertility cannot thrive 
without air; the more thoroughly and the more 
deeply a soil can be aerated the richer it should be, 
and the better should plants grow upon it. The 
depth to which air penetrates the soil increases 
when the water-table is lowered by drainage, 
hence a larger feeding area is presented to the roots. 

Draining a Soil Makes it More Moist. — Al- 
though it may seem a paradox, draining a soil may 



198 SOILS 

make it more moist at the times when moisture is 
needed most. This is a feature of drainage that 
many people find hard to understand, yet the 
explanation is very simple. Drainage lowers the 
water-table, thus increasing the volume of soil 
above it in which the roots of plants can feed, for 
they can use only film water. The larger the area 
of soil above the water-table, the more film water 
there is for the plants to use. They root deeper 
and so are farther away from the dry surface soil. 
Furthermore, a soil is more mellow after being 
drained than before, so it can absorb and hold 
more water as film moisture, and its ability to 
draw up water from the water-table is increased. 
Under-drainage simply carries off free or standing 
water, thus leaving more room for the film water 
that plants use. Hence it is that a drained soil is 
dryer in a wet time and more moist in a dry time 
than before it was drained. 

In humid regions under-drainage may be equiva- 
lent to irrigation as a means of supplying water to 
the crop. The farmer who drains his land owns 
more soil than he did before ; for until the water- 
table was lowered he had the use only of the soil 
above it, the only part in which the roots of his 
plants can feed. If he lowers the water-table 
two feet he adds a layer of soil two feet thick to 
his property. He has two feet more of soil in 
which the roots of his plants may find nourishment. 
This is the cheapest way of increasing the size of 
the farm. 

After a soil has been drained the roots of plants 
penetrate it deeper, earthworms burrow deeper 
in it, air follows these channels and the ventilation 
of the soil is still further improved. A system of 
tile drainage is itself very effective in aerating the 




68. COivN "DROiVXEDOUT" 

The aggregate loss of crops by poor drainage is enormous. Much of this 
loss can be prevented 



#'T«'!i««rcsr»'. , jsvrr.- ■ ' 




69. MEADOW ON WHICH WATER HAS BEEN STANDING 
The land now has no value for cropping. It could be drained at a slight expense 







■ 








1^1 




^^J 


l^^9 








H^^H 


t< 


1 


BSirW 








I^HI^^I 


^r^^y 


tt;^ 






kj-.Ttj 




i^^^H 






^^^Hv '^'"'i 








^^^■1^1 


i^l 




^^^^^Br" 




1^ ^^ 




Hb^i^^Rk^^I^^^h 


L^**.^^ 




'^ ^ ^Pii^A^ -♦ "V *! 








H^^Hp^l^'''^ltt* ' ^^^^^^^1 


*C*SS«'' 


V 


^^^., 


% 




^ 


^Hbi^B^^H 




i^ 


^^'Hflt' 






J 


I^HJHIH 



70. A SOIL WELL DRAINED NATURALLY BY A GRAVELLY SUBSOIL 
Examine the subsoil when purchasing land 




71. SURFACE DRAINAGE BY "PLOWING INTO LANDS" 

The dead furrows in this meadow are lo paces apart. They lead the water into a shallow 
ditch on the side of the field 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 199 

soil. Most of the time the tiles carry air, as well 
as water. When the surface air is much warmer 
than the soil air, as on a warm day in early spring, 
a system of tile drains may supply a slight bottom 
heat, or at least be the means of equalising tem- 
perature. Thus a good system of under-drainage 
aerates the soil both from above and from below. 

Practical Results from Draining Land. — The 
practical result of the better aeration and increased 
warmth secured by draining land is that the soil 
becomes richer and more productive. Not only 
does more plant food in the soil itself become 
available, but also the manures or fertilisers that 
may be applied are more effective, since they too 
must first be treated with Nature's chemicals before 
the plants can use them. The beneficial bacteria 
of the soil, which thrive only in warmth and mois- 
ture — not wetness — are encouraged to multiply. 
The season is lengthened at both ends; the soil 
can be worked earlier and later, so crops have the 
use of it longer. 

If a poorly drained field is sloping there may be a 
considerable loss of fertility by surface washing. 
After this field is drained, rains sink into the soil 
more readily, as it is looser and dryer, and so a large 
part of the surface washing is checked. The cost of 
growing a crop is reduced, especially in preparing 
the seed bed, for a mellow, well-drained soil is easier 
to handle and can be brought into the right shape 
quicker than cloddy, poorly drained soil. Seeds 
germinate better, because the soil is warm and dry 
instead of cold and wet. 

The quality as well as the yield of the crop 
is often improved. This is particularly true 
of grass or hay; that which grows in well- 
drained meadows or pastures is of much higher 



200 SOILS 

value for feeding than that which grows in wet 
land, not only because the better grasses thrive 
in the well-drained soil, but also because they 
actually contain more nutriment. These and 
other benefits of draining wet, shallow or hard 
soils may be crystallised into one sentence; drain- 
ing increases the producing capacity of such soils 
and enables the man who tills them to put 
his crops upon the market at a lower cost of 
production. 

WHAT KIND OF DRAINS TO USE 

Soils are drained in two ways, by surface drains 
or by under-drains. Which method should be 
followed is mainly a matter of expediency and of 
thoroughness. Surface drainage is secured chiefly 
by means of open ditches. The objections to open 
ditches as comj)ared with under-drains are numer- 
ous and forceful. They cost more than tile drains, 
both to make and to maintain. INIore soil must 
be moved for surface drains than for under-drains 
in order to make the ditch of the needed capacity 
and to give the banks sufficient slope so that they 
will not wash. Ditches need frequent repairing 
and cleaning out, the sides cave in, they become 
choked with plants, many of which may be noxious 
weeds, and the soil washes in. 

Ditches take up much valuable space and hinder 
the use of teams. In order to thoroughly drain 
a wet field the ditches would need to be so close 
and so large that they would occupy one-fifth to 
one-sixth of the area. This is too much to lose 
if under-drains will do just as well. Furthermore, 
the loss of water from open ditches by evaporation 
is very great. It amounts to from 40 to 50 inches 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 201 

of water a year, in the Eastern States, and much 
more than that in the arid regions. 

These objections are sufficiently forceful to 
make drainage by open ditches entirely impracti- 
cable when tile drains can be used. There are 
many sections of the country, notably in the South, 
where it is dangerous to provide any kind of sur- 
face drainage, because the soil washes so badly. 
All kinds of surface drains everywhere carry 
away more fertility than w^ould be lost through 
under-drains. In most cases it is better that 
excess water should pass through a soil instead 
of over it. 

WHEN DITCHES ARE PRACTICABLE 

There are, however, conditions under which 
surface drainage is not only useful, but is about the 
only kind of drainage that is at all practicable. In 
peaty or muck })ogs, fresh and salt water marshes, 
cranberry bogs and the like, the open ditch is the 
only feasible method of drainage, at least for the 
larger drains. In these cases the main object is 
to carry off the flood or surface water; the water- 
table is not lowered to the depth that is necessary 
for most farm crops. Whenever it is wished to 
lower the water-table of such lands to four feet 
and to plant them with the common farm crops, it 
is usually necessary to supplement ditching with 
tile drainage. 

Tile drains cannot be laid in marshes in which 
the peat is not well rotted until they have been 
partially drained by open ditches. When a peat 
soil is drained it shrinks; if tile drains had been 
laid the tile would soon be found too near the sur- 
face. In such cases it is preferable to first put in 



202 SOILS 

open ditches to dry out the marsh until the shrink- 
age has occurred. Get a crop started upon the 
marsh as soon as possible, as it hastens decay. 
Later these ditches may be deepened and tile 
drains laid in the bottoms of them. 

According to King, another occasion when open 
ditches are feasible is in draining very level land 
underlaid by a very fine clay. These places are 
usually found where a lake once existed. Water 
moves through the fine clay so slowly that tile drains 
would not be effective unless laid so close that the 
expense would be prohibitive. Such soils should 
be plowed into lands from twenty to thirty feet 
wide with the dead-furrows emptying into shallow 
ditches. 

Ditches are also useful to provide an outlet for 
under-drains, and to catch surface drainage on 
slopes, or at the foot of slopes. In other words, 
ditching is useful mainly for taking care of surface 
water, and for removing the excess of water in the 
first foot or two of soil. Deep and thorough 
drainage, such as most farm crops demand, can 
usually be best secured by under-drainage. 

HOW TO DIG A DRAINAGE DITCH 

The depth, width and grade of a ditch depends 
chiefly upon the amount of water to be removed, 
the lay of the land and the nature of the soil. In 
marsh lands the ditch may usually be cut to a 
depth of four or six feet, and with almost vertical 
sides. Peat or muck soil is not liable to wash or 
cave in, being more or less fibrous, especially if 
the water-table is not lowered sufficiently to dry 
out the soil so deep that it will shrink and crumble 
the banks. Ditches in an upland soil, however, 




72. DRAINING WET LAND WITH AX OI'F.X DITCH 

Ditching is much inferior to tile draining, where the latter is expeclienl, being more 

expensive in the long run and not as lasting. But only ditches arc 

practicable on some marsh land. The sides of 

this ditch are too steep 




AX OPEN DITCH WITH GRASSED SIDES OX AX I \N^ -I 

THEY DO NOT WASH 
All ditches take up much room. They become foul with weeds and 
must be cleaned out 




74. LAYING A TILE DRAIN 

The di'ch is four feet deep. The line of tiles is given a fall of one to four inches in 
loo feet. The joints are titled together carefully 




75. A TILE THAT HAS BEEN CLOGGED BY TREE ROOTS 

The whole drain may be obstructed in this way. Lay sewer pipe when the drain passes 
near trees, and cement the joints 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 203 

must have sloping banks. If the soil is a tenacious 
clay a slope of 15° to 20° may be suflScient to hold 
the banks. More often a slope of 45° is barely 
enough to prevent caving in, which means much 
extra work. The greater the fall of the ditch, the 
flatter should be the banks. 

In many cases, especially for wet meadows, the 
best kind of ditch is merely a broad hollow, about 
one or two feet deep and six or eight feet wide. 
These places may be grassed over, if in a meadow ; 
if the land is used for tilled crops and the ditch 
serves as a water carrier only in winter and early 
spring, it may be planted. All kinds of farm 
machmes can pass over such a ditch; it is the 
most serviceable kind whenever it will drain the 
land sufficiently. On nearly all comparatively 
flat land, and especially on western prairie land, 
there are many shallow natural water-courses, 
variously called "runs," "draws" and "sloughs." 
The heavy spring rains turn these into drainage 
channels. If necessary shallow ditches, ten or 
twelve feet wide and two feet deep, may be scooped 
out in these draws with plow and scraper and the 
bottom and sides seeded to grass. 

The Grade. — The grade of an open ditch must 
be low. A fall of five or six inches in a hundred 
feet is usually about all that an ordinary soil will 
stand without washing, especially if the banks have 
not enough slope. If it is necessary to make 
curves in a ditch, they should be very gradual, 
particularly if the fall is greater than it ought to be, 
for when the ditch runs full the water will tend to 
eat into the outer bank, as it does in streams. 
When an average ditch is running full after a 
freshet a fall of two inches in a hundred feet makes 
a current of about four miles an hour. This 



204 SOILS 

current quickly undermines steep banks unless 
the soil is very fibrous or clayey. It is usually 
best to grass over open ditches ; some sort of herb- 
age will soon cover the banks anyhow, but grass 
roots are more valuable as soil binders. 

The distance apart of open ditches is governed 
entirely by the nature of the land. In marsh land 
the small laterals, which may be about three feet 
deep and three feet wide on the bottom, are fre- 
quently placed from 40 to 100 feet apart, and 
empty into larger main ditches, which are five or 
six feet deep and equally wide on the bottom. 
In some cases it is better to dig larger ditches from 
150 to 200 feet apart. 

PLOWING INTO LANDS 

This simple and very common device for surface 
drainage has already been mentioned in Chapter V. 
It is useful solely for removing the excess of free 
water, especially that which stands upon the sur- 
face. Plowing a field into lands makes very 
shallow open ditches. It is quite common to 
leave dead-furrows about fifteen or twenty feet 
apart, thus throwing the soil into slightly 
raised beds or lands. The dead-furrows should 
usually lead to open ditches on the side of the 
field. This dries out the soil and warms it 
earlier in spring. 

If the soil is liable to remain wet late into the 
spring, and especially if it is a heavy clay, the dead- 
furrows may be in the same place for several years, 
thus deepening the hollows and elevating the lands. 
On average soils, however, the dead-furrows should 
be made in different places each year. According 
to Roberts, lands five or six paces wide do not 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 205 

drain off the surface water of nearly level fields as 
effectively as lands twenty to twenty-five paces 
wide, "because not enough water is carried into 
any one of the dead-furrows to produce a current 
sufficient to overcome the obstruction offered by 
clods and friction." Surface drainage by dead- 
furrows is most practicable on very fine clay soils, 
through which water passes so slowly that it would 
be almost useless to lay tile drains beneath them. 
Sometimes the dead-furrows may be joined by 
cross furrows, so as to convey the water away along 
a natural depression. 

THE ACTION OF UNDER-DRAINS 

In most cases under-drains are more efficient 
and more practicable than surface drains. Under- 
drains may be of stone, boards, brush, or other 
materials, but tile drains made of baked clay are 
now used almost universally. Drain tiles have 
come into common use within fifty years. There 
are now many thousands of tile factories at work in 
the United States. Any clay that will make good 
bricks is suitable for making tiles. Few parts of 
the country where tiles are most needed, especially 
east of the Mississippi, are without facilities for 
making drain tiles. 

The philosophy of under-drainage is simple. 
An open passage is made through the soil below 
the water-table; that is, below the point at which 
water fills all the spaces between the soil particles. 
It is like boring a hole into a water tank two feet 
below the point where the water stands in the tank, 
and inserting therein a pipe. The water is lowered 
to the level of the bottom of the pipe. Lines of 
3-inch tiles are run through the subterranean 



206 SOILS 

lake; tney lower its surface to the level of the bot- 
tom of the tile at the points where each line of tile 
runs. But the level of the water-table rises higher 
between the lines of tile, as water cannot move as 
freely through the .soil as it does in the open. Thus 
the surface of the water-table of a tile-drained 
field is something like a series of crescents, the lines 
of tiles being at the lowest points. 

The height to which the water-table rises be- 
tween the lines of the tiles depends upon the 
distance apart of the drains and the character 
of the soil. The farther apart they are, the 
higher the water rises between them. The more 
sandy or porous the soil, the more nearly does 
the water-table come to the level of the drains 
over all the field. Thus, if under-drains are placed 
four feet deep in a sandy soil, and a similar distance 
in a clayey soil, the water-table of the former 
might be lowered to an average level for the 
field of three and one-half feet and the latter to 
two and one-half feet. 

It must be clearly understood that under-drains 
carry off only free water, never film water. Fur- 
thermore, they remove no water from a soil unless 
the water-table is above them. Water does not 
run into them, it is squeezed in. For instance, if 
a line of tile drains is placed four feet deep in a soil 
in which the water-table is four feet six inches be- 
low the surface in summer, none of this water 
will get into the tiles until the water-table has 
been raised to four feet, or over, as it might be 
early in spring after heavy rains. 

Water enters tile drains through the joints and 
also through the walls of the tiles. It is not 
necessary, as many suppose, to leave a crevice be- 
tween the tiles for the entrance of water. No 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 207 

matter how tight a joint is made, water will pass in 
freely. In laying tile, therefore, the object should 
be to make as tight a joint as possible, so that dirt 
will not enter and clog the tiles. 

PLANNING THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM 

The attempt to drain a piece of land, no matter 
how small, should be preceded by careful planning. 
The direction of the drains, the distance between 
them and the grade should be plotted on paper. 
The aim should be to lay out the system so as to 
secure suflScient fall and give adequate drainage 
with the least digging and the least amount of tile. 
To this end it is necessary to make few outlets and 
junctions and not to lay two lines of tiles so close 
together that they both drain an area that could be 
drained by one line. 

On small areas having a noticeable fall, the 
drains may be located by eye and the planning may 
be done without the aid of a surveyor; but much 
land that requires draining is quite flat and it is 
extremely difficult to give the drains the right grade 
without the assistance of an instrument. It does 
not pay to go to the expense of buying tile and dig- 
ging ditches only to make a botch of the job by 
trying to save the cost of the services of a competent 
drainage engineer. Nine times out of ten the work 
of laving out the drainage system on a large area 
should be entrusted to a surveyor. 

The owner of the field should, however, con- 
tribute his knowledge of local conditions. He 
should know, for instance, the source of the 
water it is expected the drain will remove — whether 
it comes from overflow, springs or otherwise — so 
that the drains may be laid to cut off the supply 



208 SOILS 

with the least amount of digging. He should know 
the wet spots in the field and if the outlet of the 
drainage system is to be on the bank of a stream, he 
should know the high- water mark of the stream. 
Only the man who tills the field and observes the 
condition of the soil at all times of the year 
can locate a drainage system upon it most eco- 
nomically. 

It may be cheaper and better to have a large 
job done entirely by a drainage engineer. He has 
a force of men who are familiar with all the ins and 
outs of the business, and can dig a ditch, lay tile and 
finish the work much quicker than men who are 
unused to the business. It is especially important 
that the man who lays the tile should be skilled, 
or if not skilled at least very careful. Cheap help 
for this work is poor economy. 

In planning a system of under-drainage the 
various points should be considered in the following 
order: First, select the best outlet. Second, lo- 
cate the position of the main or mains. Third, 
ascertain the difference of level between the out- 
let and the highest point in the main, and de- 
termine the grade. Fourth, locate each of the 
laterals. Fifth, find the difference in level 
between the highest point in each lateral and 
the point where it joins the main, and de- 
termine the fall. Under all circumstances work 
from the outlet or outlets back to the furthermost 
laterals. 

Make an exact plan of the system on paper, 
drawn to a scale. A man usually thinks he can 
remember just where the drains are located, but 
in a surprisingly short time all traces of them on the 
surface are obliterated and recourse must be had 
to a map. Failure to make a map may cause 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 209 

much inconvenience and useless digging when the 
drains need attention later. 

THE OUTLET 

The first point to look after is the outlet; the 
water must be carried off after it is collected by 
the tiles. More than one drainage system has 
given poor service solely because a suitable outlet 
was not provided. The channel into which the 
drainage system discharges may be a natural water 
course, as a river, creek, brook, or rill, or it may be 
an open ditch constructed for the purpose. If a 
natural water course, it is very essential that the 
outlet of the drain be at least several feet above 
the highest point at which the water in the stream 
has been known to stand. This precaution is 
necessary to prevent the stream water from backing 
up and filling the lower end of the drainage system, 
which not only prevents the drainage water from 
escaping, but also allows the stagnant water to 
deposit sediment on the bottom of the tiles and 
choke them. All the water in a tile drainage 
system should be in motion all the time. 

The outlet is the most vulnerable part of a 
drainage system; it is the only part that comes to 
the surface. Hence it will pay to deepen and 
straighten the course of the stream at that point, 
if necessary, in order to make it doubly sure that 
the drainage water will meet no obstruction in 
passing from the outlet. For the same reason it 
is usually best to have as few outlets as possible; 
to collect the water from many or several lines 
or systems of drains into one main with a single 
outlet. Sometimes, however, it is cheaper to have 
several outlets, one for each system, instead of 



210 SOILS 

uniting all into one main. The cases are rare 
when it is best to let each line of tile have an in- 
dependent outlet. 

The outlet should be kept clear of weeds and 
soil, guarded from the tramping of animals and 
protected from injury by frost. In the Northern 
States it is not safe to run the ordinary soft tile 
to the surface. The last ten feet, at least, 
should be of more durable material, as a box drain 
made of 2-incli plank; or, better yet, the last ten 
feet may be of glazed sewer tile. Cast iron sewer 
tiles are sometimes used. It is well to face the 
bank at the outlet with brick or stone. There 
should be a wire screen over the outlet to prevent 
the entrance of small animals. Examine the 
outlet at least twice a year to see that it is free. 

THE GRADE OF TILE DRAINS 

The amount of fall or grade that under-drains 
should have depends upon the contour of the land, 
the length of the drains and the character of the 
soil. The first thing to do is to locate the outlet 
above all possible danger from obstruction by back- 
water. The height above the outlet of the highest 
point of land that is to be drained must next be 
determined. For example, there may be a dif- 
ference of seven feet between the outlet and the 
upper end of the main, and the distance is 1,200 
feet. This means that the main may have a fall of 
five inches per hundred feet, which is about right. 
The main drain must follow the lowest land from 
the outlet to the head of the drainage system, and 
be given as much fall as possible, within a reason- 
able limit, so that the lateral drains will have 
suflScient fall. The fields that are most likely to 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 211 

need draining are apt to be rather flat and there 
may be considerable diflSculty in deciding off-hand 
where the lowest land is, and along what line be- 
tween the outlet and the upper part of the field the 
greatest fall may be secured. In doubtful cases 
a level should settle the question. 

Having established the outlet and located the 
main drain on the lowest land, next locate the lat- 
erals, or collecting drains. The fall of the entire 
system must now be considered. In general it 
should be from 5 to 8 inches in 100 feet. If this 
grade can be secured there should be no difficulty 
in laying a system that will work perfectly. But 
very often 2 or 3 inches in 100 feet, or even less, is 
as much fall as can be had. Excellent drainage 
systems are now in operation that have a fall of 
2 inches in 100 feet, and there are occasional ex- 
amples of farm drainage systems that work with a 
fall of even |-inch in 100 feet. But these can be 
constructed only with the aid of a skilled engineer. 
In farm drainage a fall of at least three inches 
should be sought ; if one must content himself with 
less grade he should employ a surveyor and give 
greater attention to the laying of the tiles. 

On the other hand, too much fall in a drainage 
system is equally undesirable. A fall of 12 inches 
in 100 feet is considered about the limit of safety. 
A greater grade would carry the water so fast that 
there would be danger of loosening the tiles. This 
is especially true on lighter soils, which frequently 
have tile drains washed from them after a very 
heavy rain. If any of the tiles are loosened suffi- 
ciently to admit soil the whole system may be 
ruined eventually. 

If possible it is best to have all the drains laid at 
a uniform grade, from the upper end of the system 



212 SOILS 

to the outlet. If It Is necessary to change the grade 
it should preferably be from a less fall to a greater, 
say from 3 inches to 4 inches in 100 feet; if the 
grade is reduced there is greater likelihood that the 
sediment in the water will settle in the lower part of 
the system. To avoid this, if a reduction in grade is 
necessary, put a "silt basin" at the point where the 
change is made. This is made by sinking an 
8-inch, 10-inch, or 12-inch tile below the level of the 
ditch, and notching it on one side for the drainage 
water to flow in, with a lower notch on the opposite 
side for the first tile of the new grade. Tlie soil 
dropped in here should be cleaned out occasionally. 
Carry the silt basin to the surface with glazed 
sewer tile ; or, if the line of tiles is large, dig a larger 
basin and brick up the sides. Silt basins should 
be covered all the time with iron, stone, or plank to 
avoid accidents and freezing. Silt basins are really 
small wells; they enable the farmer to see if his 
drains are working properly, as well as collect silt. 
They may be placed at the junction of the sub- 
mains and the mains, even if there is no change in 
grade, so as to give an opportunity to examine the 
working of the drains. 

DEVICES FOR ESTABLISHING GRADE 

The most important part of under-drainage is 
the grade. If the grade is insuflScient the water 
stagnates and the tiles become filled with soil. If 
any part of the system, even a few feet of it, is 
below grade the whole system suffers. Hence 
the necessity of securing the services of a skilled 
drainage engineer if a large area is to be drained. 
The use of a surveyor's level is not indispensable 
to good draining, but is extremely helpful. If a 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 213 

small area is to be drained, and the land is not 
very flat satisfactory work may be done by a care- 
ful man without a level. 

A Home-made Level. — There are many simple 
devices for establishing a grade. King recom- 
mends a "water level," which is easily made at 
home. It is made of a piece of f-inch gas 
pipe, four feet long, with a T exactly in the 
center and an elbow at each end. A piece of 
pipe about six feet long is inserted in the T 
and sharpened at the lower end, making the 
standard which is thrust into the ground. A 
short piece of glass tube, |-inch in diameter, is 
cemented into each L and the top of each tube is 
fitted with a cork. Each tube should project 
exactly the same distance above the L. Fill the 
gas pipe with water, coloured with ink or bluing, 
until it just shows in both of the glass tubes when 
the pipe is exactly horizontal. When using this 
improvised level, stick the standard firmly into 
the ground, remove the corks and adjust it until the 
water shows that the horizontal pipe is perfectly 
level. Then step off four or five feet and sight 
across the top of the two tubes. If used carefully, 
this instrument does quite accurate work for short 
distances. 

There are many ways of using this and other 
kinds of levels. The simplest way, for drainage 
work that is not complicated, is to first set the level 
some 50 or more feet from the outlet. Sight back 
to the outlet, set the measuring rod on the ground 
and note the height at which the level sight strikes 
the rod. It may be 4 feet 6 inches, for example. 
With the instrument in the same position find 
the height at which the sight strikes a rod , set about 
50 feet in the opposite direction, along the line which 



214 SOILS 

it is supposed the drain will run; say at 5 feet. 
The difference between the back-sight and the 
fore-sight is thus six inches, showing that the 
land has a fall of 6 inches in 100 feet, or in the dis- 
tance between the two points at which the rod 
stood. The instrument may now be moved 
forward and similar measurements taken for the 
remainder of the main and for the laterals. 
The fall that the entire system can have is thus 
determined. 

The next thing to do is to stake out the 
drains. Beginning at the outlet drive into the 
ground a stout peg 8 or 10 inches long until it is 
flush with the surface. Drive similar pegs 50 
feet apart along the line where the ditch will 
come and about 12 inches to one side of the 
centre of the ditch. About a foot from these 
"grade pegs" drive "finders," stakes which project 
a foot above the ground and guide one to the 
grade pegs. 

The work of determining the grade and depth of 
the ditch may now be begun, using the level as 
indicated above and taking the height of the top of 
each grade peg by placing the rod upon it. Thus, 
if it has been determined that the drain may have 
a fall of 4 inches in 100 feet, at which grade it will 
be 3 feet 6 inches deep at the outlet, if the next 
grade peg is four inches higher than that at the 
outlet it shows that the bottom of the ditch at that 
point should be 3 feet and 8 inches below the level 
of the grade peg. Measurements are taken all 
along the line in the same way and the depth which 
the ditch should be at each fifty-foot point is re- 
corded in a book, and on each of the finder stakes. 
When laying the tile a cord is stretched along 
the tops of the grade stakes and the depth for laying 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 215 

is determined with the aid of a measuring rod, 
which has an arm at a right angle and long enough 
to reach to the line. 

A Sighting Method. — Brooks recommends a 
simpler and scarcely less accurate device for secur- 
ing the right grade. Drive two stakes at the outlet, 
one on each side of the position of the ditch, 
so that when firm their tops are a little over six 
feet above the level of the drain at the outlet. Thus 
if the outlet must be 3 feet 8 inches deep the tops of 
the stakes will be a little over 2 feet 4 inches above 
the level of the ground. Nail a light, narrow board 
from stake to stake so that the top of it will be level 
and exactly six feet above the bottom of the drain. 
Go to the upper end of the drain and place a similar 
grade board just 6 feet above the bottom of the 
ditch there; if the drain is 300 feet long, and a 
grade of 3 inches in 100 feet can be secured, this 
grade board will be nailed 9 inches above the sur- 
face. 

At intervals of 50 feet on the line of the 
drain set similar pairs of stakes. The height at 
which to nail the grade boards on these is deter- 
mined by sighting from the lower to the upper 
grade boards, or vice versa. Dig the ditch nearly 
to the desired depth. Now stretch a stout cord 
very tightly from the top of the grade board at the 
outlet to the top of the grade board at the upper 
end of the drain, and midway between the stakes, 
where the centre of the drain should be. Brace 
the upper and lower grade boards to prevent the 
line from sagging. When the ditch is completed 
the bottom at all points should be exactly six feet 
below the cord. 

The success of this device depends upon the 
accuracy with which the sighting is done and the 



216 SOILS 

grade boards nailed, upon a taut cord, and care- 
ful measuring to the cord. The latter operation 
is done with a rod and great care should be taken 
to hold it exactly vertical. A spirit level will aid in 
this. See that the cord does not stretch during 
changes in the weather. When carefully executed 
this simple method of grading gives very satis- 
factory results. 

There are many other home-made devices for 
establishing grades, as the walking level, and those 
in which a spirit level is used. When the field 
has a noticeable slope a careful workman can make 
a fairly accurate grade by simply watching the 
flow of water in the ditch. But it is not best to 
depend upon the eye alone, except, perhaps, for 
very small fields which have a pronounced slope. 

THE NUMBER AND DIRECTION OF DRAINS 

This is determined by the contour of the land and 
the character of the soil. If a more or less con- 
tinuous depression runs through the field, some- 
where near the middle, the drains would probably 
have but one outlet, with one main following the 
depression, and with laterals running obliquely 
from it to the surrounding higher land, unless 
something could be gained by a short cut. If 
there were two depressions there might be two 
mains, which would unite to make one outlet. If 
the whole field slopes slightly in one direction, say 
toward an open ditch, the water in which never 
rises above the point at which the outlet of the 
drains would be, mains might be dispensed with 
altogether and the field drained by parallel lines of 
small tile running from the upper end of the field 
to the ditch, each having an independent outlet. 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 217 

The mains should make sweeping curves, 
not abrupt ones. The laterals also may join the 
mains at any angle, depending entirely upon the 
grade. If the main is m a marked depression it 
may be necessary to run the laterals nearly parallel 
with it for some distance, so as not to make their 
fall too great, making a long acute angle; but 
if the main is in a very slight depression 
the laterals may be almost or quite at right 
angles to it. In any case they should be 
given a slight curve before they join the main, 
so that the water may be carried into the main 
with the current, not across it. 

When draining land that has a marked slope the 
lines of the tile may be run up and down the slope, 
across it, or obliquely. If there are springs on 
the slope these will be cut off most effectively 
by cross-slope drainage, otherwise it makes little 
difference which method is chosen except for the 
difference in fall. Most drainage^ engineers prefer 
to run the drain obliquely down the slope when- 
ever it is expedient. 

There are thus many systems of laying out tile 
drains, each of which has merits under certain 
conditions. The contour of the land, the character 
of the soil and the position of the outlet usually 
decide this question. In fact, it is often necessary 
to put in a combination of several systems on one 
field, because of the variation in contour. In 
planning any system of tile drains the aim should 
be to use 3-inch tiles in preference to larger 
sizes, wherever they can do the work, for the 
larger size of tiles add greatly to the expense of 
the system. Every field is a new problem; no 
one can tell how the drains ought to run without 
studying the field. 



218 SOILS 

DISTANCE BETWEEN UNDER-DRAINS 

This depends chiefly upon the nature of the 
subsoil and the depth of the drains. The ease 
with which water can pass through the subsoil to 
the drains would naturally have much influence in 
determining the distance apart of the laterals. 
Water will pass to the drains through a sandy sub- 
soil from ten to one hundred times more rapidly 
than through a stiff clay subsoil. The coarser the 
subsoil and the freer it is from hard-pan the more 
readily does water move to the drains and the 
farther apart they may be placed. In other words, 
the more open the subsoil is the farther apart 
should the drains be, for the excess water in such 
soils quickly drains off. The movement of water 
in compact subsoils is very slow. 

The depth of drains should be considered in 
deciding their distance apart; the deeper they are 
the lower do they make the water-table. Under- 
drains do not lower the water-table of the entire 
field to their own level. At the point where the 
drains are placed it is lowered to that level, but 
midway between two lines of drains it may be 
several inches or even several feet higher, depend- 
ing upon the openness of the soil and the ease with 
which water passes through it laterally. The 
water-table of an undrained field is a series of 
curves or crescents, the lower ends of each curve 
being on a level with the bottom of the drains. So 
the deeper drains are placed the farther apart they 
may be without danger of the water-table coming 
too near the surface, midway between the lines of 
drains. 

The common distances apart for laying tile 
drains are 20 to 30 feet on deep, very compact clays; 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 219 

40 to 70 feet on average loams with a rather open 
subsoil, and 100 and even 200 feet on very open 
soils. A safe distance for average loam soils in 
the Eastern and Central States is 40 to 50 feet, if 
the depth is not less than 3| feet; and 25 to 40 feet 
on heavy clay soils. Many fields naay be ex- 
cellently drained with some lines of tile 40 feet and 
some 100 feet apart, according to the nature of the 
soil in different parts. 

DEPTH OF UNDER-DRAINS 

The deeper the drains are placed, within reason- 
able limits, the better they work. But beyond a 
certain depth the expense of moving soil increases 
faster than the advantage gained in the way of 
better drainage. In certain soils it may cost about 
twice as much to dig a ditch four feet deep as it 
does one three feet deep. For ordinary farm crops 
the depth to which the ground water should be 
lowered need not be over four feet, and frequently 
less. If the land is too wet only in the early 
part of the season, and it is desired merely to 
lower the water-table sufficiently to dry out the 
land quickly in early spring, drains placed two 
and one-half or three feet deep will usually 
answer the purpose. 

It may happen that the only available outlet is 
so high that it is necessary to place the drains at less 
depth than what is considered best, so as to secure 
sufficient fall for the entire system. Again, if the 
field has a sandy or gravelly subsoil some four or 
five feet below the surface, it would be unwise 
to place the drains so deep that the water-table 
would be lowered into the sand or gravel, because 
this coarse soil has poor capillary power and the soil 



220 SOILS 

above it would be but poorly supplied with film 
water after the water-table is lowered into it. In 
the Northern States it is absolutely necessary to 
lay tiles below the frost line anyway, for they are 
easily heaved and cracked by frost. This means 
a depth of two to three feet, and even four 
feet in the northern prairie states. In the 
Red River Valley of Minnesota and the 
Dakotas the ground freezes six feet deep, 
and there is much doubt as to whether tile 
drains are practicable there. It is not prac- 
ticable to try to place drains so deep that the 
roots of ordinary crops will not enter them, for 
these roots commonly run from five to ten feet 
deep. 

The best depth for drains on average soils is 
three and one-half to four feet. There are few 
cases where lateral drains should be five feet, or 
over, but mains are frequently laid at that depth. 
It is rarely expedient to lay deep drains in stiff soils ; 
shallow drains are much better, for water moves 
slowly through heavy soils. Land that is to be 
permanently in grass may have the drains laid 
more shallow, not only because the grass will 
prevent the ground from freezing so deep, but also 
because grass thrives when the water-table is 
nearer the surface than is best for most tilled crops. 
Under-drains in such lands are often laid two and 
one-half to three feet deep with excellent results, 
especially if the soil is not very heavy. Thirty 
inches is about the minimum depth, under any 
circumstances, at which it is practicable to lay 
drains. When laying drains in peaty land 
make allowance for the settling and shrinking 
of the soil from the decay of the vegetable 
matter. 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 221 

KINDS OF TILES 

At least eight styles of tile have been used since 
the beginning of tile drainage, but at the present 
time practically all farm under-drainage is done 
with round tiles. Sole and double-sole tiles, which 
are flat on one, two, or four sides, are heavier and 
can be joined together only in two ways; whereas a 
round tile can be joined to its neighbour at any point. 
Six or eight-sided tiles with a round bore are quite 
popular in the West and have all the merits of 
round tiles, except that collars cannot be used with 
them, which is unnecessary in most cases. How- 
ever, they have no advantage over ordinary round 
tile and it is doubtful if they can be laid as rapidly. 

There are a number of special forms of tiles for 
certain uses. "Elbows" or L's are made in all 
sizes, either with a slight curve or a curve of 45 
degrees. They are used principally for the mains. 
At the point where a lateral empties into the main, 
or a sub-main into the main, "junction pieces," 
or branch tiles, are necessary. These may be Y's 
or T's, the Y's usually being preferred. The use of a 
Y is almost indispensable at junctions, in order to 
prevent an accumulation of soil and displacement 
of the tiles at that point. "Collars" are tile rings 
two or three inches long, which are slipped over the 
outside of the tiles to cover the joint. They pre- 
vent soil from washing in and hold the tiles in place ; 
but they cost so much and the incovenience of 
applying them is so great that they are impracticable 
except where there is great danger of tiles being 
displaced, as where the fall is sharp and the 
soil rather light. "Enlarging tiles," which taper, 
are useful at the point where the drain changes 
from one size to a larger size, as from a 3-inch 



222 SOILS 

to a 4-inch, making the joint much more perfect 
than if the 3-inch tile were butted against the 
larger one. 

When buying tiles it is important to stipulate 
that all be perfect. Some lots of tiles contain 
many that are not fit to be used in a drainage 
system; one poor tile may undo the work of many 
good ones. Good drainage tiles do not crumble 
and when struck on iron have a ringing, metallic 
sound, not a dull, wooden sound, showing that they 
have been well burnt. Tiles that are badly warped 
or chipped at the ends are worse than useless. 
They should be smooth inside and cut square on 
the ends. Glazed tiles are more durable than 
unglazed, but there is little difference in efficiency. 

SIZE OF TILES 

A system of tile drainage should have sufficient 
capacity to carry off the excess water of the heaviest 
rains that fall, inside of twenty-four to forty-eight 
hours. The time when under-drains are most 
taxed is in early spring when the soil is already 
saturated. The greater the fall of the system the 
smaller the tiles may be, because water is carried 
off more rapidly. Formerly 1- and l|-inch tiles 
were quite commonly used for lateral drains; now 
2-inch tiles are the smallest used, for it costs but 
little more to make them than the smaller sizes. 
They are easier to lay to grade and safer. Two- 
inch tiles are still used in the Eastern States, but 
not so much as formerly, being largely replaced by 
the 3-inch size. 

The sizes of mains and sub-mains are capable 
of fairly accurate calculations, as their capacity 
varies with the square of their diameters. 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 223 

Wheeler makes the following estimate of the 
relative capacity of different sizes of tiles : 

A Sj-in. tile will carry 1^ times as much water as a 2-ln. tile 
" 3 " " " " 2J " " 
" 4 " " " " 5 " " 

" 5 *' " " " 5^ " " 

" 6 " " " " 12J " " 

An 8 " " " " 25 " " 

Chamberlain gives these rules for estimating the 
size of mains: When the fall is not more than 3 
inches in 100 feet the diameter of the tiles should be 
squared and the result divided by 4. Thus a 
3-inch main will drain 2^ acres; a 4-inch main, 
4 acres; a 5-inch main, 6| acres; and so on. When 
the fall is greater than 3 inches, square the diameter 
and divide by 3. In this case a 3-inch main will 
drain 3 acres; a 4-inch main, 5 J acres; a 5-inch 
main, 8 J acres ; a 6-inch main, 12 acres, etc. These 
rules have been found to be quite reliable on 
ordinary soils. 

On heavy soils the different sizes will drain 
more than the area given, as water moves through 
them more slowly. Elliott says, "For drains 
not more than 500 feet long a 2-inch tile will 
drain 2 acres. Lines more than 500 feet long 
should not be laid of 2-inch tiles. A 3-inch tile will 
drain 5 acres and should not be of greater length 
than 1,000 feet. A 4-inch tile will drain 12 acres; 
a 5-inch tile, 20; a 6-inch, 40; and a 7-inch tile, 60 
acres." The capacity of tiles is thus seen to vary 
widely in the judgment of experts. The size of 
the main increases as it proceeds toward the 
outlet and receives the drainage of the larger 
area. 



224 SOILS 

DIGGING THE DITCH 

The largest expense of establishing a system of 
under-drainage is in moving the soil. Many steam 
and horse-power machines have been invented for 
doing this work, but most of it is still done by hand. 
Most of the machines require more power than can 
ordinarily be furnished conveniently; but some, 
that are designed merely to loosen the surface, are 
very serviceable. If a large area is to be drained 
it will be economy to hire men who have had expe- 
rience in the business, when they can be had. 

In order that no more soil may be moved than is 
absolutely necessary, it is customary to stretch a 
stout line 4 or 5 inches back from where one side 
of the ditch should be and cut true to the line. The 
width of the ditch on the surface need not exceed 20 
inches, even for large mains, and 12 or 15 inches is 
ample for lateral drains. Beginners always dig 
ditches wider than is necessary. The ditches 
should taper downward evenly, being but 4 or 5 
inches wide on the bottom, if 3-inch tiles are to be 
laid. In case the drains are laid more than 4 feet 
deep it may be necessary to make them a few inches 
wider. 

The surface soil may be partly moved with a 
plow if it is not very heavy or very stony. After 
the line is stretched a very deep furrow is turned 
with an ordinary plow, which may then be followed 
by a trenching plow, or another furrow may be 
turned with a landside plow. Part of the soil is 
thus moved out, and part is so loosened that it is 
handled easier. The trench is then finished with 
a spade. Many, however, prefer to open the 
entire ditch with a spade. An ordinary spade 
answers the purpose for a small job, but a ditching 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 225 

spade, which has a narrow, curved blade about 18 
inches long, is preferable. 

The soil should be placed on the edge of the ditch, 
not thrown away from it. Both surface and subsoil 
are placed upon the same side of the ditch, and usu- 
ally it is not necessary to keep them separate. In 
some cases it may be cheaper to have the ditch dug 
by contract, except grading the bottom to receive the 
tiles, which should be done by an experienced and 
careful hand. If quicksand is encountered the sides 
of the ditch will need to be supported with boards, 
braced by sticks between them. Besides the spade, 
a tile hoe is a convenient but not indispensable 
tool. It is used for cleaning out and grading the 
bottom of the ditch. It comes in various sizes, 
according to the size of the tiles laid, and makes a 
half-round groove into which the tiles fit snugly. 

Ditching should be begun at the outlet and the 
main should be laid back to the first lateral. This 
junction is then made and two or three tiles of the 
lateral are laid before the main is laid further. 

LAYING TILES 

It is well to begin laying the tiles as soon as a 
strip of ditch is graded, for if a storm arises 
enough water may run into the bottom of the 
ditch to spoil the grade. Usually it is best to begin 
laying the tiles at the lower end of the system. 
They are first placed in a line along the edge of 
the ditch. The man who lays the tiles may stand 
in the ditch or he may stand on the edge of it and 
handle the tiles with tile hooks, with which they 
may be turned and twisted until the joints are 
satisfactory. Professional tile layers often do 
very rapid and satisfactory work without getting 



226 SOILS 

into the ditch; inexperienced men had better lay 
the tiles by hand. 

The joints should be as close as possible; here is 
the place for extreme care. There is no danger 
that water will not enter the tiles freely enough, 
even with the closest joints, but there is always 
danger that soil will wash into the tiles. All tiles 
have a slight curve; turn them in the bottom of 
the ditch until they fit against each other snugly. 
If junction or branch tiles are not used at the 
junction of the laterals with the main, the former 
may be let into the latter through a hole cut into 
the main with a small pick or short, pointed hammer; 
but the two should be joined very neatly and the 
joint packed with clay. A better way is to pick a 
hole in the top of the main, another near the end of 
the last tile of the lateral, and place the two open- 
ings together after plugging the end of the lateral 
with a stone and clay. Some drainage experts 
think it pays to put cloth, paper, sod, and 
other coarse materials over the joints before 
filling in the soil: others find this is not 
necessary. 

FILLING THE DITCH 

In filling the ditch be especially careful not to 
displace the tiles and to get the soil packed tightly 
about them, so that there may be no chance for a 
water channel outside the tiles. Usually it is best 
to cover the tiles four to eight inches deep as fast 
as they are laid, using the soil last thrown out, if 
it is clay. This is done by a man in the ditch 
following the man who lays the tiles, while a third 
man on the bank shovels in soil, being careful not 
to throw in large stones. This is tramped around 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 227 

and over the tiles, care being taken not to move 
them out of line. 

The remainder of the ditch is filled very rapidly 
in any way that is handiest. An ordinary scoop 
scraper may be used if the team is hitched to it by 
a long chain and works on the opposite side of the 
ditch. Sometimes the ditch may be filled most 
economically entirely by hand. A wooden scraper 
shaped like a snow plow drawn backward is some- 
times serviceable for filling a ditch when the soil is 
mellow. A road scraper is very serviceable for 
finishing the filling after the ditch is nearly closed. 
It is well to tramp the soil several times in the 
process of filling. Leave the soil around the ditch 
rounded, for it will settle. It is not absolutely 
necessary to fill in the subsoil first and the surface 
soil last, but this should be done as far as is 
convenient. 

OBSTRUCTIONS IN TILE DRAINS 

If the grade is too flat to carry off the water 
before the sediment in it settles, or if any tiles are 
displaced, the drains may soon become partially 
filled with soil. This is especially likely to occur 
when the subsoil is clay. The time of greatest 
danger is the first two years; after that the soil 
becomes compacted about the joints. It is some- 
times necessary to dig up poorly laid tile drains 
every three or four years and clean out the mud in 
them. When the fall is sharp and uniform, and 
the joints well made, there ought not to be any 
trouble from this source. 

The filling of tiles by the roots of trees is another 
possible cause of trouble. These often enter the 
joints and fill the interior of the tiles with a dense 



228 SOILS 

wad of small roots, completely closing the bore. 
Willows, elms, white maples and other water-loving 
trees are the worst offenders. If possible, avoid 
laying drains within thirty to sixty feet of trees, 
according to the size of the trees. If a line of tiles 
must run close to a tree use sewer pipe near 
it and cement the joints. This is the great 
difficulty in tile-draining orchard land. The 
roots of other farm crops rarely clog a tile 
drain. The obstruction of drains by animals, 
as frogs, muskrats and rats, is prevented by 
covering the outlet with wire netting or iron 
grating. 

When a drain is clogged the land near the ob- 
struction gradually becomes wet, and but little 
water flows from the outlet. A partial obstruction 
may sometimes be removed by flushing, which 
is done by closing the outlet of the drain until 
the drain and the surrounding soil are filled 
with water, then opening it. The comparative 
level at which water stands in small deep 
holes dug parallel to the suspected drain 
will usually locate the exact point of an ob- 
struction. 

COST OF LAYING TILE DRAINS 

This is from $12.00 to $60.00 per acre according 
to the number of ditches opened, the nature of 
the soil and the cost of tiles and labor. The more 
the larger sizes of tiles are used the greater is the 
expense. The expense of digging the ditch and lay- 
ing the tiles should average about $3.00 to $4.00 per 
100 feet for laterals, and more proportionately 
for the mains. The cost of tiles varies greatly; 
the list prices of the manufacturers are usually 




THE PLOW MAY BE USED TO FACILITATE THE REMOVAL OF 
SURFACE SOIL FOR DRAINS 
Usually, however, the work is done entirely with a ditching spade 




77. OUTLET OF A TILE DRAIN CLOGGED BY SOIL SO THAT 
THE DRAIN DOES NOT WORK 

It should be kept free of all obstructions, and is preferably bricked up. A wire screen 
keeps out small animals that might obstnict the drain 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 229 

subject to large discounts. On an average they 
will cost: 

2-inch tile $1.00 per 100 feet 



^ " 


" 1.30 " " 


3 " 


1.50 " " 


4 " 


" 2.25 " " 


5 " 


" 3.75 " " 


6 " 


" 4.50 " " 


7 " 


" 6.80 " " 


8 " 


" 9.00 " " 



The cost of tiles for mains is thus two or more 
times as much as for laterals; hence the necessity 
for making the main as direct and short as possible. 
The expense of filling the ditch may be estimated 
at from thirty to forty cents per hundred feet. 
Professional drainage engineers usually figure on 
a total cost of from $15.00 to $25.00 per acre when 
a large field under average conditions is to be 
drained. If an inexperienced man does the work 
it is likely to cost much more than this. 

OTHER KINDS OF UNDER-DRAINS 

Before tile drains were perfected, various 
other materials were used, chief of which were 
stones, plank and brush. Very rarely are any 
of these drains practicable now; tile drains are 
usually cheaper and always more serviceable. 
When flat stones are abundant a stone drain 
may be feasible, but it costs as much to put in a 
good stone drain as a tile drain. The large, flat 
stones are laid so as to form a continuous channel. 
If there are many stones on the surface these can 
be thrown in above the drain. Stone drains are 
very likely to clog with soil, as the joints are so 
poor. 



230 SOILS 

Box drains are made of three or four 2-inch 
planks, with short pieces of laths between the 
larger joints to provide an opening for the water 
to enter the drain. They are cheaper than stone 
drains, but quickly decay. On newly cleared 
land, brush and pole drains are occasionally used, 
especially if chestnut or cedar wood is abundant. 
The brush is piled in the bottom of a ditch and 
covered with soil. Pole drains are made by laying 
three small logs so as to form a channel. Both 
are crude and temporary at best, giving poor or 
fair service for only a few years. "Mole drains," 
made by drawing a conical piece of wood through 
the soil by steam power at a depth of two or three 
feet, have been known to do fairly good work for 
several years in clay soils, but they cost nearly half 
as much as tile drainage and are not permanent. 
All these kinds of drains are most successful on 
clay soils. After having gone to the expense of 
digging a ditch it is far more practicable in most 
cases to put in tile drains, which are durable and 
eflBcient, instead of these uncertain substitutes. 

DRAINING POT HOLES 

A problem which many farmers would like to 
have solved is how to drain low places which are 
surrounded on all sides by land so high that it is 
entirely inexpedient to cut through it for an outlet. 
In many cases it will cost more to drain such places 
than they will be worth afterwards, but sometimes 
it will be worth while to try one of the following 
methods: If the land is made wet almost entirely 
by surface drainage, it may pay to dig a ditch 
around it to intercept the surface water. If it is 
found that there is a bed of sand or gravel within 



THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 231 

ten or fifteen feet of the surface, as is sometimes 
the case, it may be practicable to sink a well 
through the surface soil that holds the water, which 
is usually clay or silt, into the more open subsoil 
below. This well may be filled with stones to 
within three or four feet of the surface, and the 
balance with sand or soil; or it may be stoned up 
and used as an outlet for tile drains. If expedient, 
this water may be pumped out by a windmill and 
used for irrigating surrounding fields. Water- 
loving trees, as willow, larch and white maple, 
will do much to drain these places in summer when 
in full leaf, but unfortunately they are of no help 
in early spring when such lands are most likely 
to be wet. 

DRAINING LARGE SWAMPS AND MARSHES 

Aside from its value for improving farm soils 
already under cultivation, and for bringing into 
service meadows and small swamps, examples of 
soil drainage on a large scale are becoming more 
and more numerous. Shaler estimates that there 
are over 100,000 square miles of swamp land in the 
Eastern Atlantic Coast States alone which can be 
reclaimed and made into profitable farming land 
by drainage. It is estimated by one authority 
that there are 600,000,000 acres of swamp land in 
the United States. Some of these lands, which 
include salt marshes and large fresh-water swamps 
and meadows, are already being reclaimed. When 
drained they usually become exceedingly pro- 
ductive, partly because they contain so much 
humus, and partly because they are perfectly sub- 
watered at all times of the year. The great area 
of land wrested from the sea during half a century 



232 SOILS 

by thrifty Holland, equalling the combined areas of 
Rhode Island and Delaware, is an illustration 
of what much of our salt marsh land may become 
when diked and ditched. It is certain that during 
the next half century immense drainage projects 
for the reclamation of large swamp and marsh 
areas in the East will be no less numerous than 
the irrigation projects for the reclamation of 
the arid lands of the West. The United States 
Department of Agriculture has an OflSce of Irri- 
gation and Drainage Investigations, employing 
many experts, which has assisted in the draining 
of over 300,000 acres of land during the past three 
years. 



CHAPTER X 

FARM IRRIGATION 

IT is estimated that there are now about 250,000 
square miles of irrigated land in the world. 
This great area is receiving very large ad- 
ditions every year. The principal countries where 
irrigation is now practised are India, the United 
States, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, 
England, Scotland, in about the order named. 
Irrigation is also followed to a lesser extent in 
Belgium, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria- 
Hungary, Argentina, Australia and many other 
countries. India has 25,000,000 acres under ditch, 
Egypt 6,000,000, Italy 3,700,000. Some of the 
irrigation canals now used in India date from the 
twelfth century. The British government is ex- 
pending several hundred millions of dollars in 
developing the Indian irrigation systems, besides 
which there are not less than 400,000 private wells 
used for irrigation, serving 2,000,000 acres. In 
Italy the government controls all the streams in 
order that they may be available for irrigation. 
King states that irrigation canals are so numerous 
in Egypt that not one-tenth of the water of the Nile 
reaches the Mediterranean. 

In this country irrigation is confined chiefly to 
the arid and semi-arid (also called sub-humid) 
sections. In 1902 the number of acres under 
ditch was as follows: 



233 



234 



SOILS 



AREAS IRRIGATED IN THE UNITED STATES, 1902 

From Census Bulletin No. 16. 



State 
Arizona 
California 
Colorado 
Idaho 
Montana 
Nevada . 
New Mexico 
Oregon 
Utah . 
Washington 
Wyoming 



Arid States 



Area, Acres 
247,250 

1,708,720 

1,754,761 
713,595 

1,140,694 
570,001 
254,945 
439,981 
713,621 
154,962 
773,111 



Total 8,471,641 acres 



Semi-arid States 



State 
Kansas 
Nebraska 
North Dakota 
Oklahoma 
South Dakota 
Texas* . 



Area, Acres 
28,922 
245,910 
10,384 
3,328 
53,137 
61,768 







Total 403,449 acres 




Rice States 




State 




Area, Acres 


Georgia 




8,581 


Louisiana 




387,580 


North Carolina 




3,422 


South Carolina 




38,220 


Texas . 




168,396 



*Exclusive of rice irrigation. 



Total 606,199 acres 



FARM IRRIGATION 



235 





Humid States 






State 


Area, Acres 


Alabama 


95 


Connecticut . 










379 


Florida 










3,772 


Maine . 










17 


Massachusetts 










283 


Mississippi 
New Jersey . 
New York 










114 

48 

159 


Pennsylvania 
Rhode Island 










906 

15 




Total 5,788 acres 






Grand Total 


9,487,077 acres 



Under date of Oct. 23, 1906, Mr. Elwood Meade, 
Chief of Irrigation and Drainage Investigations, 
United States Department of Agriculture, writes: 
*'I think these figures might be increased by 10 per 
cent, to represent the present area. The increase 
is very generally distributed, so that you would not 
be far wrong to increase the area for each state 
10 per cent." 

The average size of irrigated farms in arid 
America is 67 acres. Practically two-fiftlis of 
the United States is arid. The dryest and 
warmest state is Arizona. There is no sharp 
line between arid and semi-arid conditions; in 
dry seasons most of the plains west of the 
Missouri are arid or semi-arid, while in wet 
seasons the humid area encroaches upon this. 
A belt of country which is neither arid nor humid 
extends through North Dakota, western Nebraska 
western Kansas, Oklahoma and central Texas. 
This is called by some the sub-humid, by others 
the semi-arid region. It comprises over 300,000,000 
acres. In wet seasons it produces good crops 
without irrigation. 



236 SOILS 

In general, a country is said to be arid when 
it has an average rainfall of less than twenty 
inches. The arid region of North America 
extends into Canada and Mexico. Only a small 
portion of this, about 70,000,000 acres, is desert, 
contrary to the common notion in the East. 
Most of it supports more or less vegetation; 
120,000,000 acres are lightly timbered and 
470,000,000 acres are grazing land. 

The number of acres of arid land in the United 
States which it is possible and practicable to irri- 
gate can be stated only approximately. Mr. Meade 
writes: "A few years ago 75,000,000 acres was a 
quite common estimate, but most of those familiar 
with the arid West now make their estimates 
smaller. There is at present a strong tendency to 
use less water than was formerly used and as the 
demand for agricultural products increases greater 
expense in securing water can be borne. These 
two influences would tend to increase the area 
which can be irrigated with the existing water 
supply under present practice, and any statement 
as to the ultimate extent of land which can be 
irrigated is little more than a guess." 

OBJECTS OF IRRIGATION 

The chief occasions for irrigation are an irregular 
or an insufficient rainfall. The former is char- 
acteristic of most all parts of the United States; 
the latter is found mainly in western United States. 
Most of the irrigation in this country is for the pur- 
pose of remedying an actual deficiency in rainfall, 
but much of it would be unnecessary if the rainfall 
came at an opportune time. The time when 
crops need water most is in summer and if it is not 











1 


WmSwy*'''j- 




'■,\- 










■ -iltihii-n ■ 


















1 






r 




m 










i 


?. ^H^^l 




l^^gjpp 


j^lHH^^ .', . v-T^iJi 


m 




P^ ^ 


"f^ ■ ' ■•' 




1 




': .. . 


* ^ *— - 



IRRIGATING OLIVES, FRESXO, CALIFORNIA, BY CHECK SYSTEM 
Note construction of distributing ditch 




81. THE INTAKE OF THE SUNXYSIDE CANAL, YAKIMA VALLEY, 

WASHINGTON 

Note the head-gate. These large canals are usually built by corporations 

or partnerships of farmers 



FARM IRRIGATION 237 

to be had at that time it profits nothing that the 
soil is replenished with moisture in winter, unless 
it can be husbanded by the methods of "dry farm- 

Irrigation to Enrich the Land. — A secondary 
object of irrigation, in some cases, is to carry to the 
crops fertilising material dissolved in water. In 
sewage irrigation this is the principal object; but 
fields are often flooded with the water of rivers 
chiefly for the purpose of enriching them with the 
fine soil and plant food held by the water. Even 
though the water of a stream may seem quite pure 
and be very acceptable for drinking, it may contain 
suflBcient plant food in solution, or in the mud it 
carries, to make it worth while to distribute this 
water on land solely for the sake of securing the 
plant food it contains, which is mostly left in the 
soil when the water evaporates or seeps down. 
Many meadows in England and Scotland are 
irrigated chiefly for the fertilising value of the 
water. Occasionally, also, the fertilisers that are 
to be applied to irrigated land are dissolved in the 
water and distributed by it. 

Another object is to correct " alkali." Occasion- 
ally irrigation is practised to change the texture 
of the soil, as, for example, to fill an open, 
sandy soil with the sediment of a muddy stream. 
But the chief and almost the only object of 
irrigation in this country, as applied to farm- 
ing, is to supply water, with the incidental benefit 
of adding fertility. 

HOW FAR THE NATURAL SUPPLY OF WATER WILL GO 

How dry a region or a soil must be in order to 
make irrigation necessary, or in other words, the 



238 SOILS 

least amount of moisture that a soil must have in 
order to grow a profitable crop, varies widely in 
different parts of the country, and with different 
soils in the same section. It depends upon the 
minimum amount .of rainfall, the nature of the soil 
and especially of the subsoil, the contour of the 
land and the kind of crop. 

The amount of water actually used in the 
growth of the different crops is capable of fairly 
accurate calculation. For example, it is estimated 
that it requires at least four and one-half inches 
of water per acre to produce fifteen bushels 
of wheat, nine inches to produce thirty bushels, 
and so on. These seem like small amounts, 
but, as has been shown in Chapter IV, a large 
proportion of the rainfall is lost, chiefly by sur- 
face drainage, by evaporation and by leach- 
ing, so that scarcely half of the water that falls 
upon a soil may become available for crops. 
Hence at least eight to twelve inches of rainfall are 
needed to produce a profitable crop of wheat, 
although the wheat uses less than half of it. 

It is not enough, however, that the amount of 
rainfall should come up to a certain standard. 
If it does not fall at the right time, even larger 
amounts of rainfall do not save a region from the 
necessity for irrigation. Moreover, if the soil is 
not retentive a rainfall considerably in excess of 
the amount needed to produce a crop on a more 
retentive soil will not avail. Most of the arid 
area of the United States has a rainfall of about 
ten or twelve inches, but there is a wide variation in 
the time when most of this falls, and the ability 
of the various soils to hold it. 

There is a large area in the West where dry 
farming, which is the profitable culture of crops 



FARM IRRIGATION 239 

in an arid or semi-arid region without the aid of 
irrigation, is notably and increasingly successful. 
Dry farming is discussed in Chapter V. Thus the 
farmer of the semi-arid Palouse region, in eastern 
Washington and eastern Oregon, is able to grow 
much larger crops of wheat than the farmer in other 
regions having the same amount of rainfall, because 
most of the rain falls in winter and early spring, and 
is practically all absorbed by the soil as the weather 
is cool and there is little evaporation; whereas, if 
a large portion of it fell in summer the loss by 
evaporation would be great. Then again, the soil 
of this region — a deep basaltic ash — is remarkably 
retentive of moisture, drying out very slowly and 
giving up its moisture gradually to crops during 
the almost cloudless summer. 

This single illustration will emphasise sufficiently 
the importance of these points in their relation to 
irrigation; that the need of supplying more water 
to a soil in order to make it produce profitable crops 
depends not only upon the actual amount of rain, 
but also upon the time when it falls, upon the reten- 
tiveness of the soil, and upon the skill of the farmer 
in making the fullest use of the natural supply of 
water. Ten inches of rainfall in one section may 
be equal to sixteen inches in another, so far as its 
crop- producing capacity is concerned. 

IRRIGATION IN HUMID REGIONS 

In the United States irrigation is resorted to 
chiefly as a means of correcting an absolute defi- 
ciency of moisture. It is an arid and semi-arid 
farming practice and is confined mainly to regions 
having less than twenty inches of rainfall. But 
there has been much interest in irrigation in the 



240 SOILS 

humid sections of the country. Many small irri- 
gation systems are in profitable operation in the 
Eastern States, aside from the large areas of 
rice and cranberries that are necessarily irrigated 
by flooding. 

The reason why it sometimes pays to irrigate, 
even when the annual rainfall is forty to sixty 
inches, is because of the frequency of serious 
droughts during the growing season, especially 
at the time when the crop is approaching maturity. 
Over a large part of eastern United States pro- 
tracted summer droughts are common, and often 
reduce very seriously the yields of crops. It is 
argued that if the crops could have a few irri- 
gations at these critical times the gain in yield would 
more than pay for the cost of establishing the 
irrigation plant. This contention has been fully 
established in many cases. The construction of 
an irrigation plant in a humid region may be 
reo-arded as an insurance against unfavourable 
weather that may or may not come. There is 
seldom a season when the rainfall in any part of 
humid United States is so abundant and so evenly 
distributed that one or more irrigations would not 
materially increase the yield. The almost universal 
watering of lawns and gardens from the hydrant 
is irrigation on a small and expensive scale, yet 
this usually pays. 

The question, however, is not whether any 
benefit would be derived from irrigation, but 
whether the benefit is commensurate with the cost, 
and whether nearly as good results could not be 
secured, and much more cheaply, by better methods 
of tilling the soil to husband rainfall. Irrigation 
in a humid climate may easily become a cloak for 
shiftless tillage. Undoubtedly there are many cases 



FARM IRRIGATION 241 

when it will pay to irrigate in the East, especially 
certain water-loving crops, as strawberries, celery, 
raspberries, blackberries, grass, and garden vege- 
tables. In the East, however, it is a question of 
economics, not of necessity, as it is in many parts of 
the West; the point is whether the increase m crops 
will pay for the extra expense. That depends upon 
the character of the soil, the value of the land, its 
nearness to market, the ease with which water may 
be secured and distributed, and many other business 
details. To illustrate: It might pay to irrigate 
grass land in Connecticut, which has about forty 
to fifty inches of rainfall, if there is a stream from 
which water can be easily diverted and cheaply 
distributed ; but it might not pay to build an expen- 
sive storage reservoir for this purpose. It might 
pay to irrigate a market garden on high-priced land 
close to the city, on which the value of the crops 
may reach $300 to $700 per acre, when it would 
not pay to irrigate the same crops grown on cheap 
land. It must be remembered, also, that irrigation 
can rarely be practised in the East as economically 
as it can in the West, because there the land has 
a fairly uniform surface as a rule, while Eastern 
farms are much more frequently irregular in con- 
tour and difficult to irrigate. Moreover, it is 
easier to hire skilled irrigators in the West than in 
the East. Most Eastern irrigation, aside from cran- 
berry and rice, is on market-garden crops in the 
suburbs of large cities near the Atlantic seaboard. 
As a general proposition, then, irrigation in 
humid sections is a matter of expediency; it may 
pay or it may not, according to the conditions. It 
IS an entirely different question here from what 
it is in arid regions ; there irrigation is the only way 
to make farming pay. One disadvantage of 



242 SOILS 

irrigating land in a humid climate must not be 
overlooked ; it is the danger of a heavy rain coming 
after an irrigation, flooding or soaking the land. 
This condition never arises in an arid country. 
If the soil is heavy and tenacious this is a serious 
objection; but if it is sandy or loamy, so that water 
quickly drains from it, there is little danger of 
injury and these are the Eastern soils that are 
usually benefited most by irrigation. The cost 
of building irrigation systems should usually be 
less in a humid region than in an arid region, 
because the supply of running water is larger and 
more widely distributed, but the cost of applying 
the water is usually greater. The diverting of 
water from Eastern streams, however, is attended 
with much uncertainty, because of riparian rights, 
which are firmly adhered to in the humid East, 
but usually set aside in the arid West. This fact 
has discouraged many attempts to build irrigation 
systems in the East. However, springs can be 
utilised and most irrigation on a small scale in the 
East is by pumping from springs and wells. 

It seems likely that the advantages of irrigation 
in the humid sections of our country have been 
over-estimated. In a majority of cases better 
preparation of the soil before planting, so that it 
will hold more water, and more thorough tillage 
of the soil after planting, so that little water will 
be lost by evaporation, are likely to be a more 
practicable solution of the drought question than 
irrigation. In other words, the principles of dry 
farming are likely to be as successful in mitigating 
the effects of drought in humid sections as they are 
in making the most of a scanty rainfall in semi- 
arid sections. Better tillage, rather than more 
water, is the key to the drought situation in the 



FARM IRRIGATION 243 

East, except, perhaps, in the special cases noted 
above. 

SUPPLY OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION 

The most common source of water for the large 
irrigation systems is a river or smaller stream. It 
is extremely fortunate that most of the arid sections 
of our country are traversed by streams which have 
their origin in highlands, where the rainfall is much 
greater than in the plains, and so the streams are 
never-failing. Some western streams, notably in 
southern California, do not appear on the surface 
except in freshets. They exist below the sur- 
face, however, in a very real sense, as a well 
defined body of water, seeping through the soil 
in a definite channel. Such streams may be 
dammed below the surface and used for irrigation ; 
or wells may be sunk in or near the dry river bed and 
the water pumped up. Innumerable wells have 
been sunk in southern California for this purpose, 
especially during the recent series of years of 
extremely scanty rainfall, ending in 1900. 

Occasionally lands are irrigated from a lake or 
pond, but more frequently from a special storage 
reservoir made by damming a stream. Some of 
the most notable irrigation systems in the West are 
supplied by masonry reservoirs built at a great 
cost. It is a part of the Government's plan, under 
the Reclamation Act, to build immense reservoirs 
among the foothills for storing the water derived 
from the rain and melting snow on the mountains. 
Whether covering a few acres or many square 
miles, these reservoirs are constructed at strategic 
points, as in a natural depression, like a deep, 
narrow valley or canon having only a narrow 



244 SOILS 

opening at the lower end which would need to 
be closed. 

Irrigation Water from S'prings and Wells. — 
Irrigation from springs and wells is of far greater 
importance in India and in parts of Africa than in 
the United States; most of our irrigation is done 
from streams. In eastern United States, however, 
it is frequently practicable to supplement the 
deficient rainfall of certain seasons by supplying 
water from a well or spring, provided the area to be 
covered is not large. In India a single well waters, 
on an average, from 3 to 5 acres of arid land. 
Small springs yielding only two or three quarts per 
second may be cleared out and should irrigate 
several acres. It is usually necessary, however, 
to provide a reservoir when the flow is so small. 
This may be merely large enough to hold the flow 
of twenty-four hours. A spring that runs two 
quarts per second would discharge 43,200 gallons 
in twenty-four hours, which could be held in a 
reservoir forty feet square and three and one-half 
feet deep. 

Spring and well water is sometimes too cold to be 
used for irrigation until it has been first warmed 
in a reservoir, but this is not usually necessary ; and 
since it contains far less plant food than stream 
water, and is usually more difficult to secure, it 
should not be used for irrigation when any other 
can be had conveniently. Wells can be had in 
most parts of the arid regions at a depth of 20 
to 100 feet. The water is usually raised by a 
windmill. Artesian wells — those in which the 
water comes up and overflows the surface of the 
ground — are sometimes available for irrigation, 
notably in South Dakota. 

Use of Hydrant Water for Irrigation. — The use 



FARM IRRIGATION 245 

of hydrant water for irrigation is confined to market 
and home gardens near cities and large towns, 
especially in the Atlantic States. It can usually 
be bought in quantity at twenty to thirty cents per 
1,000 gallons, at which price it may sometimes be 
practicable to use it for forcing a high development 
of crops on high-priced and heavily taxed land. 
The market gardeners around Boston, New York 
and other Eastern cities quite frequently resort to 
hydrant irrigation; but this method is entirely out 
of the question for the general farmer living within 
city lin[iits. 

THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL EARTH RESERVOIRS 

The construction of large irrigation canals and 
reservoirs is a problem in engineering, not in 
agriculture, and will not be considered here. 

A large proportion of the small irrigation plants, 
especially m the humid states, make use of an earth 
wall, as a dam to a small stream at the mouth of a 
valley, or across a gully to catch and hold surface 
drainage, or as the sides of a reservoir built upon 
level land and filled by a windmill, hydraulic ram 
or steam or gasoline pump. Such a reservoir 
should be placed high enough to water all the land, 
but if it is filled by powder it should be as low as 
possible so as to save the lift. Loosen the ground 
with a plow where the walls are to stand and 
saturate the soil with water. When it has dried 
somewhat let the teams pass over it often. Repeat 
the wetting and tramping as the wall arises. Al- 
most any loam or clay soil will hold water if it is 
puddled in this way. If the soil is fairly stiff and 
the reservoir small this puddling may take the place 
of the clay wall that is necessary for large reservoirs. 



246 SOILS 

The bottom of the reservoir should then be har- 
rowed, and, if necessary, covered with clay and 
puddled. 

The banks of small reservoirs should have a rise 
of not more than one foot in two. The top of the 
bank should be at least two and one-half feet wide. 
For example, if a bank is five feet high it should 
be about seventeen feet wide at the base. The 
rim of it should be sodded or faced with stone to 
prevent erosion by waves. A circular shape is 
preferred because it requires the least number of 
feet of wall to inclose a certain area, and seepage 
is less. The outlet should be just above the 
bottom and may be masonry, a plank sluiceway, 
sewer pipe or wrought-iron pipe, according to the 
size of the reservoir. It should be provided with 
a gate. The loss of water by seepage from these 
small reservoirs varies with the character of the 
soil, but need not exceed eight inches a year and 
is usually less. The loss by evaporation is usually 
much greater, especially in very dry or windy 
climates. It can be lessened only by planting 
windbreaks. 

PUMPING WATER FOR IRRIGATION 

Most of the irrigation in this country is done by 
diverting water from streams or reservoirs by 
gravity. In most cases this is the only kind of 
irrigation that is at all practicable. But occasion- 
ally it is necessary or expedient to raise water from 
the supply to the main ditch or to the field. This 
is done chiefly by windmills, engines, hydraulic 
rams, water-wheels. Pumping water for irrigation 
has become quite common in California, where 
wells are sunk in or near the beds of underground 



FARM IRRIGATION 247 

streams. There are over 200,000 acres in Cal- 
ifornia irrigated from wells, the lift in many cases 
being over 200 feet. 

Windmills. — The most common source of power 
for moving water is the windmill. When small 
areas are to be irrigated, and it is not necessary to 
raise the water over 25 feet, a windmill can often 
be used to advantage. It is first necessary to be 
assured of sufficient wind during the growing 
season. Fortunately, the arid and semi-arid prai- 
ries and valleys of the West are usually windy. 
In the East, especially in a hilly country, it is some- 
times necessary to secure an exposed site for the 
windmill, as a tower 70 to 90 feet high, above hills, 
trees and other obstructions. The windmill should 
be able to utilise all the power in winds of from 8 
to 30 miles an hour, according to the size of the 
machinery. For the best service it should have 
two pumps, one of smaller capacity than the other, 
and should be so adjusted that each may be used 
alone, or both together, according to the strength of 
the wind. Small, rapid windmills, having wheels 
8 to 12 feet in diameter are usually considered most 
economical. According to the Office of Experi- 
ment Stations a good windmill will irrigate from 
^ to 7 acres of land at a cost of .75 to $6 per acre. 
But there are many crude, home-made windmills 
that do fairly good work, costing from $5 to $25, 
being made of old mowing machines, dry goods 
boxes and bale wire. These have enabled many a 
poor settler to get a start the first few years. 

The water may be drawn from a well, stream, 
pond or lake. In many parts of the arid region 
water may be struck from 20 to 50 feet deep and 
an unfailing well secured, from which water may 
be raised for irrigation. But it is absolutely 



248 SOILS 

necessary first to provide a reservoir; little can be 
done with the small stream pumped direct from 
the well. The storage reservoir or tank may be 
of wood or other material, but usually the most 
practicable method is to build one of earth as 
already described. Sometimes two or more mills 
are placed around a reservoir of this kind. 

Steam and Gasoline Engines. — This power is 
used chiefly by market gardeners in the East for 
irrigating small areas, when the height to which 
the water must be raised is not over 20 feet. There 
are many makes and styles of engines adapted for 
this purpose. Gasoline engines are commonly 
used when coal and wood are very costly. A 
2-horse-power gasoline engine should irrigate an 
acre at a cost for fuel of about 50 cents a day. 
The cost of pumping water by engines usually 
exceeds the cost of maintaining ditches or the price 
of water bought from a canal company. King 
found that a 2| -horse-power gasoline engine could 
pump sufficient water to cover an acre 12 inches 
deep for $3.75 per acre, and that it could easily 
irrigate 10 acres 12 inches deep without a reservoir. 
The same authority determined that an 8-horse- 
power portable engine, with soft coal at $4 per ton 
and with a lift of 26 feet, could draw water through 
110 feet of 6-inch suction pipe and discharge it 
through varying lengths of the same pipe up to 
1,200 feet at a fuel cost of 18.1 cents per inch of 
water per acre, or $2.17 per acre for 12 inches. 
The expense of pumping is rarely below $3 an 
acre per season, and often twice or thrice that 
amount. 

Gasoline pumps range in capacity from 5,000 
gallons per minute from a depth of 25 feet down to 
300 gallons per minute. Centrifugal pumps run 



FARM IRRIGATION 249 

by steam are quite commonly used up to 40-horse 
power and sometimes larger. Most of the smaller 
pumps are run by gasoline. These pumps draw- 
water easily from a depth of 100 to 400 feet. This 
method is practicable chiefly in the humid and sub- 
humid regions and for small operations, but rarely 
in an arid country and for large operations. Gaso- 
line engines are often used to supplement wind 
power, being used to run the pump on still days. 

Water-wheels.— One of the oldest and still one 
of the most useful means of carrying water to 
thirsty land is by utilising the force of flowing 
water. When a stream has sufiicient fall to de- 
velop water power this is one of the cheapest and 
most satisfactory methods of irrigating small 
areas. There are thousands of water-wheels on 
the edge of swift-flowing streams in the arid West, 
and hundreds of thousands in Europe and Asia. 

The undershot is one of the oldest and best of 
water-wheels. This is a paddle wheel carrying 
buckets on its rim, so that when the current turns 
the wheel the buckets are filled, raised to the top 
and emptied automatically into a wooden flume 
which carries the water into the irrigation ditch. 
These undershot wheels are of many patterns, and 
may be as much as 35 feet in diameter. The largest 
may supply nearly 120 acres with 2 inches of water 
every ten days. 

On the other hand, the water-wheel may be used 
to drive a centrifugal pump which develops power 
to lift other water out upon the land. This method 
is especially useful when the stream has a high 
bank along which canals could be built only at 
great expense. The Wyoming Experiment Station 
describes a wheel 10 feet in diameter and 14 feet 
long, which is connected by a sprocket wheel and 



250 SOILS 

chain to a 3§-inch centrifugal pump, which lifts 
1,000 gallons per minute to a height of ten feet. 
It irrigates 200 acres at the rate of 2| inches every 
10 days, and costs $1,200. 

Hydraulic Rams. — Large hydraulic rams are 
often serviceable for irrigating small areas. They 
are cheap and they work for many years with 
practically no attention. A large modified ram 
known as a siphon elevator, is said to be capable 
of lifting 6 acre-inches under a head of 10 feet to 
25 feet high in 24 hours, or enough to irrigate 24 
acres 2| inches deep every ten days. This can be 
used only when there is a reservoir, and costs about 
$500. 

In Europe and Asia various crude devices for 
using horse, mule and man power are often used 
to lift water for irrigation. These are for the most 
part entirely unnecessary and impracticable in the 
United States, being too slow and laborious; but 
from these humble beginnings many prosperous 
irrigated farms have been developed in the arid and 
semi-arid regions of our own country. 

DISTRIBUTING THE WATER 

Water is diverted from the main canal into the 
farm laterals, and from these into smaller supply 
ditches, through a sluice-gate made of boards or 
planks. These are of many styles, but the essen- 
tial principle in most of them is a rectangular 
flume or sluiceway with a wooden shutter, mortised 
into the upper end, which can be raised and lowered 
in its groove. In diverting water from a ditch the 
covered sluiceway is carried through the bank 
nearly on a level with the bottom of the ditch and 
the gate is placed at the ditch end. The joints of 



FARM IRRIGATION 251 

the grooves should be tight so that no water will 
trickle through; sometimes they are faced with 
rubber or leather. Besides many styles of these 
home-made gates there are various manufactured 
gates which are more complicated. 

Distributing Ditches and Flumes. — Having 
brought the water to the farm by ditch, flume or 
pipe, it must now be distributed to different fields. 
This is usually done by taking out from the main- 
supply ditch smaller distributing ditches or laterals, 
which should have a slight but uniform grade. 
Generally it is best to run these main laterals direct 
to the different fields, from the point where the 
water is delivered, and to take from them small 
laterals to all parts of the fields. The main lateral 
or "head-ditch," is located on the border of the 
fields, if the land is nearly level; or on the ridges, 
without regard to field lines, if the land is rolling. 
They are usually permanent. Laterals for flooding 
should be 50 to 100 feet apart. Laterals for furrow 
irrigation are farther apart, usually from 20 to 50 
rods and run across the direction of the furrows, 
so that water can be turned into each furrow at its 
head. These small laterals may be permanent or 
temporary. Distributing laterals should be run 
nearly at right angles to the greatest slope of the 
land. A fall of at least five feet per mile is com- 
monly recommended and twenty-five to thirty feet 
per mile is not uncommon. 

Small laterals are quickly built with a mould- 
board plow by turning up two parallel furrow- 
slices with unbroken ground between them. The 
bottom of the ditch should be on a level with the 
surface outside, so that water will flow out of it 
when the bank is cut. In other words the banks 
must be made of soil that is mostly taken from 



252 SOILS 

outside the ditch, so as not to lower its bottom. 
Double mouldboard plows and special "lateral 
plows" are also used. When it is necessary for a 
distributing ditch to cross over a small depression 
it must be built up by heaping firmly tramped soil 
into a high pile, in the top of which the water 
course is cut. 

If the depression is deep it may be more 
expedient to carry the water across it in a 
wooden flume, built of two planks, like a V, or 
square-bottomed. In arid regions ditches are 
used almost exclusively for distributing water from 
the main supply, being cheaply built and easy 
to handle. 

The loss of water from lateral ditches by seepage 
is great, especially on open soils ; were they not so 
cheap they would be impracticable. Pipes carry 
the water to its destination with no seepage, with 
no evaporation and with great celerity. Their 
expense is against them for general use in arid 
regions but in the Eastern States they are often 
used to advantage in small operations, especially 
in market gardening. Board flumes are perishable 
and permit of evaporation, but they are cheap 
and are usually the most practical means of dis- 
tributing water if the ditch will not answer. The 
best flume for carrying a small amount of water is 
a V-shaped trough made of two boards nailed 
together and bedded in the soil, with short cross 
pieces under the end joints. If pipes are used they 
had better be laid on the surface and removed in 
the fall. 

The use of cement-lined ditches for distribu- 
ting water, in the arid regions and elsewhere, 
is increasing. If the soil is stiff and the region is 
not subject to hard frosts, cement or asphaltum 



FARM IRRIGATION 253 

may be laid directly upon the bottoms ; but usually 
it is safer to provide some foundation for the cement, 
preferably flat stones. The advantages of a cement- 
lined ditch over an ordinary one are that it pre- 
vents seepage and washing and carries the water to 
its destination quickly, so that little is lost by 
evaporation. Such ditch linings are not safe 
except in mild climates as they are likely to be 
heaved by hard frosts. 

Whatever the method of distributing the water 
it should be carried along the highest part of the 
field to be irrigated. From this head ditch the 
water is applied to the land by gravity. 

METHODS OF APPLYING WATER 

The methods of securing, storing and distrib- 
uting water are largely matters of engineering, 
although they have a direct and vital relation to 
successful agriculture on many American farms. 
The point is now reached when the water must be 
applied to the soil; here agriculture begins. The 
problem of securing sufficient water to water the 
farm economically is often very difficult, calling for 
much ingenuity and engineering skill. But the 
problem of applying this water to the land, so that 
both soil and crops will receive the most benefit, is 
much more complex. The engineer can help the 
farmer bring water to the farm successfully and 
economically, but the problem of how best to use 
this water on the land each farmer must solve in his 
own way. 

The use of water, like the use of fertilisers and 
manures, is not capable of being formulated into 
definite rules applicable for all farms, or even for 
any considerable number of farms ; chiefly because 



254 SOILS 

the soils of few farms are exactly alike, or have been 
cropped alike. Irrigation has been practised 
for hundreds of centuries, yet there is no 
generally accepted body of inforination on the best 
way to use water. This must be left largely to the 
judgment of the farmer. So there are good and 
there are poor irrigators, according to ability to 
judge correctly the nature of the soil and the needs 
of the crop. One man is able to make an inch of 
water go twice as far as another. Some souse 
their crops and puddle their land; others know 
how to let the soil dry out and sweeten until the 
critical time comes when the crop would suffer if 
water were not added. Like tillage, irrigation is a 
matter of judgment, not of rule. 

The principal methods of applying water are by 
flooding, by furrows, and by sub-irrigation. The 
method of applying water to the land is governed 
by the kind of crop and the texture of the soil and of 
the subsoil. If the soil is coarse-grained water will 
sink down rapidly and much will be lost by seepage 
if it is allowed to stay upon the soil long in the same 
place, as in furrow irrigation. Coarse-grained 
soils should be flooded, if expedient. 

FLOODING 

The simplest way to use water is to spread it 
over the surface, as a river overflows its banks. 
If the land is fairly level this is the cheapest 
method of wetting a large field before it is plowed 
for planting and also for watering land used con- 
tinuously for grains, grasses, clovers and other 
crops that are not tilled. But an almost perfectly 
level field is rare; so, in the contour check system 
of flooding, it is usually necessary to throw up low 



FARM IRRIGATION ^55 

banks, or "levees." These are built at right 
angles, forming square or rectangular blocks of 
land of from J to 20 acres, depending upon the con- 
tour, the head of water, the crop, and the height of the 
banks. On land that has a marked slope a com- 
mon size is 50 to 150 feet square, but sometimes 
checks only 2 or 3 rods square are necessary. In 
the San Joaquin Valley, California, 30,000 acres of 
alfalfa in one block are irrigated by flooding. 
The banks are 12 to 20 inches high, 12 to 18 feet 
wide at the base and are plowed, harrowed and 
harvested like the enclosed spaces. 

When the field slopes considerably in but one 
direction, the checks are made rectangular in- 
stead of square with the long sides running 
across the slope. This makes it possible to 
include a larger area within the check. If the 
slope is uneven the banks running across it will 
naturally have to follow the contour. They are 
from 10 to 20 inches hig-h and 4 to 15 feet wide at 
the bottom, so that mowers and harvesters may be 
driven over them easily. Thus they become 
permanent features of the farm. The ridges may 
be thrown up by hand with shovels, but usually 
by plowing in back-furrows and using a scraper the 
work can be done more economically. Each 
check should include as large an area as possible of 
approximately the same level. 

Filling the Checks. — In flooding a field it is 
customary first to turn the water into the highest 
check and after this is saturated to open the bank 
between it and the next lower check, and so on, all 
the checks being flooded in succession from higher 
to lower. Or the water may be taken down be- 
tween the lines of checks and turned in on each 
side, flooding the checks in pairs. Or all the upper 



^56 SOILS 

checks may be irrigated at the same time, and the 
water drawn oft' into the next lower checks sim- 
ultaneously. Instead of cutting the bank there may 
be ditches with head gates between all the checks. 
Obviously the water stands deeper on the lower 
side of a check than on the upper; the more the 
slope the greater the dift'erence. Thus if a field 
slopes 8 inches in 300 feet, in order to give the soil 
on the upper part of a check 300 feet wide 2 inches 
of water, the water would have to stand 10 inches 
high at the lower bank. Build the banks at least 
3 inches higher than the water will stand on them. 

Wild Flooding. — Another system of flooding 
Quite commonly practised in the West, is to cover 
tlie field with a thin stream of running water; this 
is sometimes called "wild flooding." It is practi- 
cable only when the slope is quite moderate and 
uniform. Deep furrows are plowed down the 
slope 50 to 125 feet apart or following an easy 
grade. A V-plow is used which throws the earth 
both ways, making a ridge on either side that throws 
the water outward. Water is diverted into these 
furrows from the head ditch and each furrow is 
dammed at a suitable distance merely by a piece of 
canvas fastened to a 2 x 4, which is laid across the 
furrow and the edge of the canvas held down with 
soil. The water backs up in the furrows and over- 
flows across the intervening spaces. W^hen the 
soil is sufficiently wet the canvas dams are moved 
farther down the furrows. A wooden or metal 
"tappoon" is used for this purpose in California 
and Arizona, being thrust down into the soil so that 
it obstructs the furrow. The furrows may be tem- 
porary, when tilled crops are grown ; or permanent, 
when sod and grain crops are grown. All the 
water will not soak into the ground; some will 



FARM IRRIGATION 257 

flow into the depressions, from which it is directed 
into the other furrows. The furrows are not 
necessarily parallel; they follow the contour, 
making really a series of checks not bounded by 
levees. The canvas dam is often dispensed with. 

In all systems of irrigating by flooding it is often 
necessary and practicable to level off small in- 
equalities before applying the water. There are 
many styles of levels and scrapers, both home-made 
and patented, which answer the purpose. One 
built of two braced 2-inch planks, forming the 
letter A, does very well if weighted and shod with 
steel strips. 

FURROW IRRIGATION 

When the land has too steep a slope to be flooded 
advantageously, and when crops are grown that 
do not cover the ground and must be tilled, it is 
usually best to irrigate by furrows. The furrow 
system is also used very commonly on land that 
could be flooded, and for sown crops as well as for 
hoed crops. On steep land the furrows may be 
permanent, either for a number of years or for one 
season, but they hinder cultivation. Temporary 
furrows are best in most cases. If the soil needs 
watering before planting, however, it is customary 
to irrigate bv flooding; until the soil is wet at least 
four feet deep. The crop is then grown as long as 
possible without irrigation by giving it thorough 
tillage, for four feet of wet soil should contain six 
to eight inches of water. 

When irrigation becomes necessary take water 
from the supply, which runs along the highest 
point of the field. This may be a head ditch, or a 
wooden or cement flume, with holes an inch or 



258 SOILS 

more in diameter at the end of each furrow, plugged 
when not in use. A wooden flume is commonly 
made of soft redwood timber, 16 feet long and 
8 inches wide, with collars 2x3 inches every 8 
feet — one in the middle and one at the joint. In 
garden irrigation on a small scale a wooden V- 
shape flume may be placed at the head of the rows 
and the water may be drawn through small holes 
cut into the sides or top of the flume and furnished 
with plugs. 

Plowing Irrigation Furrows. — The furrow may 
be plowed out with one of the many special irri- 
gation plows, but a shallow-furrowmg plow will 
answer. The furrows should run in such a way 
that they follow the contour, so as to enable the 
water to barely trickle down to the ends of the 
furrows without washing. If the slope is quite 
sharp the rows of plants and the irrigation furrows 
must run diagonally across the slope from the head 
ditch. Water is turned into several furrows at 
once; when it has reached the ends of the furrows 
it is shut off at the head ditch and more furrows are 
filled. 

The amount of water that the soil receives de- 
pends very largely upon the grade of the furrows. 
If it is slight, the water moves sluggishly and more 
sinks into the soil before it reaches the end of the 
furrow than if the furrow is sharp. Do not allow 
enough water to enter the furrows to overflow 
them. The water is distributed from the furrows 
sidewise all through the soil by capillary action. 
It creeps from particle to particle until it meets 
the water spreading sidewise from the adjoining 
furrow. 

Distance Apart and Length of Furrows. — The 
best distance apart for irrigation furrows depends 



FARM IRRIGATION 259 

upon the nature of the soil and the demands of the 
crop. The looser a soil is the closer they should 
be. Water spreads slowly in heavy soils, but sandy 
soils are leachy. They may be between every two 
rows of potatoes, corn, sugar beets, or other row 
crops, or between alternate rows; but in the latter 
case the furrows for the next irrigation should 
alternate with those of the previous watering. As 
a rule the furrows should be from 4 to 6 feet apart. 
Hilgard shows that water may be applied in wide 
furrows much more efficiently than in shallow 
furrows because there is less evaporation and the 
surface is not wet as much. A few wide, deep 
furrows are better than many narrow, shallow 
furrows. The distance which it is possible to send 
water along a furrow, and thoroughly wet all the 
soil, depends upon the grade and the nature of the 
soil. The more porous a soil is the shorter should 
be the furrows. Water is commonly sent from 20 
to 75 rods in furrow irrigation and sometimes over 
100 rods. 

After a field has been irrigated, and the surface 
has dried, the furrows are levelled with the culti- 
vator. This is set to work as soon as possible, 
so as to break up the crust, which indicates the 
rapid loss of water by evaporation. The surface 
mulch on an irrigated soil should be much deeper 
than on soils in humid regions ; four inches is barely 
enough, and six inches is often necessary. 

A modified form of furrow irrigation is some- 
times practised on grain fields by rolling the field 
after sowing with a "marker," which is simply a 
roller having parallel ridges upon it so that it makes 
shallow grooves or furrows on the surface. The 
roller is run in the direction that will give the right 
slope for applying water. Water is turned into 



260 SOILS 

these small furrows as into larger furrows. 
Grain fields are more commonly irrigated by wild 
flooding. Furrow irrigation is used almost ex- 
clusively for fruits and farm and garden crops that 
require inter-tillage'. In many places it has sup- 
planted flooding for watering grains and grasses. 
It is the dominant system of irrigation in America 
to-day. 

SUB-IRRIGATION 

The great loss of water by evaporation under 
surface irrigation, and the inconvenience of having 
the surface broken by ditches and furrows, has led 
to many experiments in applying water below the 
surface through tiles, perforated iron pipes or per- 
forated cement pipes. Theoretically sub-irrigation 
is vastly superior to surface watering; the surface 
is undisturbed, the soil is not puddled as it some- 
times is in surface watering, no water is lost and 
it is all applied just where it is needed most — be- 
neath the surface mulch of dry soil. But sub- 
irrigation has been found impracticable in most 
cases where it has been tried. The one great 
difficulty with it is the cost, which is usually out of 
all proportion to the benefits. It costs from $60 
to $90 an acre to equip an average field for sub- 
irrigation with drain tile if the lines of tiles are 
placed from four to seven feet apart, as is usually 
necessary. This outlay cannot be justified ex- 
cept, perhaps, on high-priced land, and especially 
land used for market gardening. 

Another great difficulty with sub-irrigation, in 
some cases, is in being unable to supply suffi- 
cient water to wet the surface soil thoroughly, 
owing to the poor water-moving power of some 



FARM IRRIGATION 261 

soils. Some soils are so porous that if water 
is applied to them eight or ten inches below 
the surface, more of it will be lost to the crop by 
downward leaching than would be lost by evapo- 
ration if it were applied on the surface. 

Three-inch drain tiles are, on the whole, most 
useful for sub-irrigating. They are usually laid 
from 5 to 24 inches below the surface and from 4 
to 12 feet apart, according to the openness of the 
soil. Rarely is all the soil wet economically when 
the lines of tile are more than 6 feet apart. Usually 
each joint is closed with cement, except one or two 
inches on the under side. They are laid like tile 
drains, and act as drains if the soil becomes too wet. 
The fall should be very slight. Besides tile, gal- 
vanised sheet-iron pipes, with an open seam, and 
perforated iron pipes are sometimes used. On 
many soils more water will be required for sub- 
irrigating than for surface watering, even though 
there is no loss by evaporation, owing to the slow- 
ness with which it moves sidewise through the soil 
and the rapidity with which it sinks down out of 
reach of the roots. A very porous subsoil is un- 
favourable for sub-irrigation. 

But there is no use in discussing the pros and 
cons of sub-watering because the expense of the 
method is usually prohibitive. Sub-irrigation is 
now rarely practised except in greenhouses and in 
a few market gardens. Running water into the 
upper end of the main of an ordinary tile drainage 
system has been tried and with some degree of 
success m rare instances. It is necessary in these 
cases that the water-table should be nearly on a 
level with the tiles. 

Under sub-irrigation mention should be made of 
the lands that are watered naturally beneath the 



262 SOILS 

surface by underflow, or seepage from higher land. 
Lands below large irrigation canals, and receiving 
its seepage, are often sub-watered to such an extent 
that they become marshy and unfit for cultivation 
unless drained; in other cases they produce ex- 
cellent crops without drainage or the need of any 
surface irrigation. Of the same nature are certain 
low lands that receive sub-watering from higher 
land, either near-by or many miles away. The 
springs and underground seepage from high lands 
often follow certain strata of rocks and subsoil and 
sooner or later come to the surface, watering the 
land at that point uniformly and continuously 
from below. 

METHODS OF MEASURING WATER 

The methods of measuring or apportioning 
water are diverse. It is necessary that they be 
accurate, especially when the water is purchased, 
or when several farms are supplied from one ditch. 
Usually, however, an irrigator receives water not 
by measurement but by proportion; he is given a 
certain proportion of the water in a ditch, as one- 
fifth; and it is not measured by inches, but by 
proportions of the whole. This is regulated very 
simply by placing an upright partition or ''divisor" 
in the flume or ditch, one-fifth of the way across, 
so that one-fifth of the water flows into the sluice- 
way and the remainder passes on. But the ve- 
locity of the water in the ditch is greater near the 
centre than on the edges, so that those that use the 
smallest amount of water always get less than they 
are really entitled to. To correct this the ditch 
is often broadened above the measuring box so 
so that it flows through very slowly. If the 



FARM IRRIGATION 263 

volume of water is to be halved this is not 
necessary. 

Modules. — When a certain amount of water is 
to be taken out of a ditch or flume, rather than a 
certain proportion, *' modules" are used. There 
are many forms of these, from the simple inch- 
square hole cut in a plank to the complex weirs and 
patented measuring boxes. No measuring device 
now known is entirely satisfactory, because of the 
rapid fluctuation in the height and velocity of water 
in the ditch. King concludes "the most exact and 
generally satisfactory way of apportioning water 
among users that has yet been devised is that of 
bisecting the stream until its volume has become 
suitable for individual use, and then subdividing 
by time under some system of rotation." 

Units in Measuring Water. — The amount of 
water used in irrigation is commonly stated in one 
of two ways ; either the depth of standing water on 
the surface, or the amount of water flowing through 
an opening of a certain size during the irrigating 
season. An "acre inch" is enough water to cover 
one acre of land one inch deep, which is 27,150 
gallons. It is gradually becoming the standard of 
measurement in this country. A "miner's" inch 
is the quantity of water that will flow through an 
opening one inch square with a certain head, usual- 
ly six inches, from the upper side of the opening. 
This is about twelve gallons per minute. But 
the amount of head varies by law in dift'erent states. 
In California fifty miners' inches are equal to one 
second foot, but in Colorado 38.4 miners' inches 
equal a second foot. The "second foot" is the unit 
when one cubic foot of water is discharged each 
second. It will cover an acre about two feet deep 
in 24 hours, or 23.8 acre inches, and is suflBcient to 



264 SOILS 

irrigate from 70 to 100 acres of land during an 
irrigating season of about ninety days. 

DUTY OF WATER 

This is the amount of hind that it should 
irrigate. No definite rules can be made on this 
point, owing to the varying capacity of different 
soils to liohl water and the varying demands of 
different crops. For example, nearly twice as 
much water is needed in Arizona as in Montana, 
largely because the season is longer and the loss by 
evaporation much heavier. The actual amount 
of water used by the cro]) itself is small compared 
with the amount needed to saturate the soil so that 
conditions favourable for })lant growth are [)ro- 
duced. "I'lien there is always a considerable 
amount of seepage and evaporation which cannot 
be measured. Much also dej)ends u{)on the 
capillary power of the soil, or its ability to draw 
water upward, and especially upon tlie water' 
holding and water-moving })ower of the subsoil. 

In rciiard to the actual amount of water needed 
by plants. Professor King has determined that it 
takes from ;U)0 to 500 })ounds of water to make 
one pound ol" dry matter in the crop. Since an 
inch of water covering an acre weighs about 113 
tons it would require 3 to 5 inches of water to 
make one ton of hay, corn fodder or other dried 
crop. I'his is about the minimum figure and does 
not allow for serious loss by sec{)age and eva})ora- 
tion. In southern California excellent results have 
been secured with or 7 inclies per year in years 
when water was low, but only when the water was 
used with great economy, and the irrigation was 
supplemented with excellent tillage. Ordinarily 



FARM IRRIGATION 265 

nearly twice this amount is necessary, the average 
for southern Cahfornia being about 12 inches, 
in addition to a rainfall of 10 to 20 inches. 

The Character of the Soil. — When water is first 
turned upon virgin land it takes a large amount to 
thoroughly wet the soil, especially to saturate the 
subsoil. Newell states that on some arid soils 10 
feet of water is often needed the first year and 
5 feet or more per year for two or three years there- 
after. As the subsoil becomes saturated and the 
water-table raised, less and less water is needed, 
until 8 to 18 inches per year or less may be 
sufficient. 

The amount of water needed for a single irri- 
gation varies from 2 to 4| inches, according to the 
openness of the soil and the crop. If the soil is very 
dry, however, as on virgin land, two or three 
times this amount may be needed to thoroughly 
saturate the soil to a depth of 4 or 5 feet. If the soil 
is clayey and cracks badly, smaller and more fre- 
quent irrigations are better, since less water is lost 
by leaching through the cracks. 

The Kind of Crop. — The deeper the roots of the 
crop feed the more liberal may be the irrigation. 
What is desired is to store as much water as possible 
in that part of the soil which is laid under tribute 
by the plants. The deeper a crop feeds the higher 
is the "duty" of water, or the area that it ought to 
irrigate, because less of it is lost by leaching, as it 
is when applied to shallow-rooted crops. In arid 
regions plants commonly root deeper than in humid 
regions, because the subsoil is likely to be almost 
as congenial for root growth as the surface soil. 
Tree fruits of all kinds are deep rooted, also 
alfalfa; the irrigations of these plants are usually 
more liberal, but less frequent, than the irrigations 



266 SOILS 

of other field crops which do not grasp so much 
soil with their roots. 

The volume of water needed to irrigate an acre 
in one year may be roughly stated as from 30,000 
to 60,000 gallons, which is equivalent to one miner's 
inch for 5 to 10 acres or one second foot for 250 to 
500 acres. It is commonly considered that about 
the maximum duty of a miner's inch of water is 
4 to 6 acres of vegetables and small fruits and 5 to 10 
acres of orchard fruits. This means that the 
ground will be covered from 8 to 16 inches deep in a 
growing season from May to October. The 
average for most arid regions is about 12 inches 
per year. In parts of southern California 30 inches 
are sometimes used. The volume of water used 
in sewage irrigation is always much more than 
this. 

The amount of water needed is always dependent 
upon the amount of rainfall and is an addition to 
it. The more rainfall the less irrigation, for irri- 
gation should supplement the natural supply. 
Since the rainfall in a section under irrigation may 
range from almost nothing to 20 or more inches, and 
varies from year to year, the difficulty of establish- 
ing any definite standard is increased. The season 
of the year when this rainfall comes has a marked 
influence upon the quantity of water needed in 
irrigation. If it comes in summer it is less valuable, 
as a rule, than winter rainfall. 

Levelling the Land. — Arid lands that are 
irrigated are usually nearly level and are 
covered with sagebrush. They often have 
slight irregularities due to the drifting of the 
light soil. Virgin land must be prepared for 
irrigation by removing the sagebrush and level- 
ling the surface. The brush is usually grubbed 



FARM IRRIGATION 267 

out by hand with a mattock, at a cost of 
$1.50 to $2.50 per acre. Sometimes it may be 
plowed out in spring. If a railroad rail is dragged 
over the field several times, in different directions, 
the brush can be removed more easily. Sometimes 
the land is flooded for a year to kill the sage- 
brush. 

It is essential that irrigated land be very smooth 
so that water will flow readily and evenly. The 
land is usually first plowed then smoothed with 
various home-made implements. One of the most 
common is the "buck scraper" made of two 2-inch 
planks, 10 inches wide, fastened together and pro- 
vided with a steel shoe on the lower edge, and with 
handles for dumping. There are several patented 
scrapers. The cost of levelling is from $1 to $15 
per acre. 

FREQUENCY AND TIME OF IRRIGATION 

Water should be applied no more frequently 
than is absolutely necessary for the welfare of the 
crop. One great danger in irrigation, especially 
on fine-grained soils, is that of puddling the surface 
by frequent copious wettings. Then, too, the 
more often water is applied the greater is the loss 
by evaporation and seepage and the greater the 
labour. Dig down 3 or 4 feet in several places and 
examine the soil. The condition of the soil and of 
the crops are reliable guides; irrigate before the 
subsoil gets very dry and before the crop begins to 
suffer. Plants indicate the need of water by curling 
their leaves, or the leaves may turn a darker green 
than usual, or the lower leaves may turn yellow. 

There is no uniform practice as regards the 
number of irrigations. It is usually necessary 



268 SOILS 

to irrigate corn, wheat, barley, and oats from 
three to five times, oats requiring the most 
water and barley least. In Colorado wheat 
is irrigated but twice; but sufficient rain 
usually falls in spring and early summer to 
make the number of irrigations five or six if all the 
water had to be applied from the ditch. Clover 
and alfalfa are usually watered before growth 
starts in the spring and once after each crop is cut, 
applying 4 to 6 inches each time. Grass is com- 
monly irrigated as often and as copiously as is 
expedient without swamping the meadows — usual- 
ly every ten to eighteen days. Potatoes are not 
irrigated until blossoming, then two to four times 
thereafter. Fruit trees are irrigated less frequent- 
ly but more deeply than field crops ; usually two to 
six times a season, except citrus fruits, which 
require more water. 

When water is plentiful the tendency is to over- 
irrigate. This is dangerous; too much water is 
as bad as drought. It keeps the soil cold, air does 
not circulate in it and the beneficial germs of 
fertility cannot thrive. The plants look yellowish. 
If growing fruits, as peaches, they are forced to an 
abnormal size and are watery, of poor flavour and 
carry to market poorly. A good irrigator uses as 
little water as possible. If growing tilled crops the 
aim should be to make tillage take the place of 
irrigation as much as possible, for water saved is as 
ffood as water added, if not better. 

Winter n-rigation is becomnig quite common, 
especially in parts of California and Arizona. 
When the water courses are dry in summer, but full 
in spring after heavy rains, it is often practicable 
to divert it to the land and allow it to soak deeply 
into the subsoil, where it is stored against the 



FARM IRRIGATION 269 

drought of summer. If the subsoil is filled with 
water in winter, little summer irrigation may be 
needed. Winter irrigation is especially useful as 
an adjunct to dry farming. 

The Time of Day to Irrigate. — The best time to 
irrigate is late in the afternoon, or on a cloudy day, 
because less water is lost by evaporation; but the 
more important consideration of convenience usual- 
ly dictates the time, regardless of the hour. If 
heat-loving plants, as corn, are irrigated on a hot, 
sunny day, the rapid evaporation may cool the soil 
sufficiently to check growth somewhat. Crops 
that shade the ground, as fruits and grasses, are not 
subject to injury in this way. When water is 
scarce, and can be had only during certain hours, 
night irrigation is often necessary. This is an 
economy of water, for less of it is lost by evaporation 
and the water delivered at night usually costs less 
than the same amount delivered in the day, but it 
is difficult to apply it as skilfully. 

Directing the Floiv. — The flow of the water is 
directed by a man with a long-handled shovel, 
with which he keeps certain furrows open or 
closes them, as needed. It is necessary that the 
course of the water receive constant attention, for 
it is likely to collect in the hollows or break the 
channel. A common mistake in irrigating is to 
hurry the water, thus increasing the washing of the 
soil. Let it run so gently that the sides and bottom 
of the furrows are not washed and the stream runs 
clear. Too rapid application of water "slickens" 
or puddles the soil ; let it soak in slowly. If the water 
runs too slowly, direct more of it into each furrow; 
if it runs too fast, reduce the amount that is allowed 
to enter the furrow. It requires much practice to 
become really expert in handling water. 



270 SOILS 

TILLAGE AFTER IRRIGATION 

When the crop will permit the land should 
be tilled after each irrigation. This is especially 
necessary in the case of orchard fruits, small fruits, 
corn, potatoes and garden vegetables. Irrigation 
leaves the surface soil more or less puddled; when 
this dries it becomes hard and, if clay, it may crack. 
These conditions are very favourable for a rapid 
loss of water which, if unchecked, may easily 
amount in a few days to a large per cent, of the 
water that has been applied. 

Amateurs in arid farming often have a notion 
that all that is necessary is to irrigate often enough 
to keep the soil moist, and that tillage is therefore 
unnecessary. The fact is that tillage is about as 
important in arid farming as in humid farming. 
In the first place excessive irrigation makes many 
crops sappy, over-vigorous and unsubstantial. 
This is especially true of fruits. In the second 
place it is good economy to use as little water as is 
necessary to secure the best results, for water is 
expensive to secure and laborious to apply. In 
the third place a soil that is kept as continuously wet 
as would be necessary in order to grow crops with- 
out tillage between irrigations, is not in the best 
condition for maintaining its fertility. A certain 
amount of dryness in the surface soil promotes the 
development of soil bacteria and other agencies 
that have an important influence on the pro- 
ductivity of the land. As men become more ex- 
perienced in the use of water they almost invariably 
decrease the amount applied and increase the fre- 
quency and thoroughness of the supplementary 
tillage. One does not need to grow crops many 
years in order to learn that there is nothing that can 
take the place of stirring the soil. 



FARM IRRIGATION 271 

METHOD OF IRRIGATING IMPORTANT CROPS 

Methods of irrigating different crops by flooding 
and by furrows are endlessly varied in different 
sections to suit the needs of different crops. The 
following are common methods of handling a few 
of the most important irrigated crops. 

Meadows, Including Alfalfa. — These are irrigated 
largely by flooding, usually once in early spring 
before growth starts, and once after harvesting 
each crop. If irrigation is given more frequently 
than this, it should be some time before the time 
to cut the grass, so that the ground may be firm 
then. Irrigated meadows should usually be cut 
rather than pastured. Unless the ground has been 
allowed to become quite dry, animals are likely to 
roughen the surface and increase the diflaculty of 
flowing water over it evenly. The amount of water 
used in irrigating meadows cannot easily be ex- 
cessive. Under sewage irrigation, on the water- 
meadows of Italy, from 40 to 70 tons per acre 
are cut each season. These meadows are irri- 
gated by a thin sheet of water running over 
them almost continuously, night and day, during 
seven months of the year, amounting to over 
three hundred feet of water per year. Water is 
turned off only long enough to cut the six or seven 
crops of grass, which grows the year around. 

Tree Fruits. — Most orchard irrigation is by 
furrows. The prevailing method is to lead the 
water through very narrow furrows four or five 
feet apart, allowing it to soak four or five feet 
deep and to spread between the furrows beneath 
the surface mulch before the supply is cut off. It 
is sometimes recommended that the furrows be 
run on the shady side of the trees so that 



272 SOILS 

the sunlight reflected from the water will not 
burn the hark and leaves. The water should 
not actually touch the trunks of the trees; citrous 
trees are especially liable to be injured in this 
way, contracting the "gum disease." Water that 
seeps through at the lower end of the or- 
chard, and which might run to waste, may be 
collected in a foot ditch and used on the lower land. 
All the ground on which young trees are planted 
does not need to be irrigated. A distributing fur- 
row may be plowed four to six feet away from the 
row of young trees, with branch- furrows circling 
each tree. Water should stand in these from twelve 
to twenty-four hours. The circle furrow is made 
farther away as the tree gets older and eventually 
merges into two straight furrows on each side. 
The number of the furrows is increased gradually 
as the orchard comes into bearing until the whole 
area is laid off with narrow furrows four to five feet 
apart. 

Occasionally fruit trees are irrigated by a system 
of small pools or checks, a low retaining ridge being 
thrown up around each tree with a "ridger," and a 
certain amount of water allowed to stand within 
until the soil has absorbed it. The chief objection 
to this method seems to be that it tends to make the 
roots develop near the surface and close to the tree, 
and not to forage widely, though it is somewhat 
more saving of water. More rarely fruit trees are 
irrigated by flooding the whole ground. 

The vital point in irrigating tree fruits is to wet 
the soil deeply and to make tillage go just as far as 
it will in reducino; the amount of irrig-ation. In 
parts of California and Arizona it has been found 
wise, on some deep soils, to irrigate deciduous fruits 
■ — never citrus fruits — in winter, as this may 



FARM IRRIGATION 273 

make them less liable to winter injury and lessen 
the need of irri^jjation in summer. Late fall irri- 
gation is sometimes practised to prevent fall 
blossoming and the drymg of the tissues of the trees 
in winter, especially when the rainfall is very scant. 
Evergreen fruit trees require about 50 per cent, 
more water than deciduous fruits on the same 
soil. The only exception to this is the olive, 
which needs about as much water as deciduous 
fruits. 

Small Fruits. — Raspberries, blackberries, grapes 
and other small fruits are commonly irrigated by run- 
ning a furrow each side of a row. Strawberries are so 
shallow-rooted that they must be irrigated very 
frequently; hence it is a common practice to lead 
the water through broad furrows in alternate rows, 
so that the fruit may be [)icked between every 
other row. Depressed bed irrigation is also used 
for small fruits. This is really a form of check 
irrigation, only the levees are widened so that 
water may be carried in shallow ditches along 
their tops. 

Potatoes. — The land should be deeply irrigated 
before planting and no more water used than is 
absolutely necessary until after the plants have 
blossomed. If possible, carry the crop to this 
point without irrigation. After the vines cover the 
ground and tubers have begun to form it is ex- 
ceedingly important that the ground should be 
kept moist all the time so that the plants suffer no 
check. It is best to lead water between every two 
rows, imless water is scarce, when it may be led 
down every other space, alternating with successive 
irrigations. The hills should be ridged with a 
double-winged cultivator so that they will not be 
flooded. 



274 SOILS 

Garden Vegetables. — These are irrigated by flood- 
ing, furrows, and various modifications of both 
systems. A common method is to tnake furrows 
between rows four to six feet apart or in 
alternate spaces, the water not being allowed to 
flow outside these furrows. Another method is to 
lay off the garden into small basins surrounded by 
ridges four to five inches high and six to eight inches 
wide. In some cases furrows six inches deep and 
about eighteen inches apart are made and the 
plants grow on the high broad ridges between them. 
Or each row of plants may be set in a narrow basin, 
with a ridge between rows, the basin being short so 
that it can be flooded quickly. Vine vegetables, as 
cucumbers and melons, are commonly grown be- 
tween irrigation furrows six feet apart, the seeds 
being planted near the edge of the furrows and 
the vines being spread on the broad ridge between 
two furrows. Depressed and raised bed irrigation 
are also used extensively for vegetables. It is 
especially important that garden irrigation be 
followed by cultivation as soon as the ground can 
be worked. 

COST OF IRRIGATION 

This depends upon so many factors that nothing 
at all definite can be stated, as is illustrated in the 
following general quotations: 

The yearly cost of water in southern California 
is from $3 to $6 per acre. In Orange County, 
California, water sells for about $4.75 per acre foot. 
In Riverside County it cost as high as $15 per acre 
in the dry year of 1900. In Los Angeles County 
it was sold from 1898 to 1900 for $18 to $30 per 
acre foot. Hydrant water bought from a city or 




^:i. iRRU.AlJiNU A ^iAKDEN FROM A HYlJRAN r IN A SEMI- 
ARID REGION (Pullman, Wash.) 
A small notch is cut in the wooden flume at the end of each row of celery 




83. IRRIGATING STRAWBERRIES BY PUMPING FROM CACHE 

CREEK, CALIFORNIA 

Strawberries require a very large amount of water 




< V 



FARM IRRIGATION 275 

private water company is likely to cost 20 cents per 
1,000 gallons, which is $32.40 per acre for three 
irrigations of 2 inches each. The average cost of 
water for irrigating citrus fruits in California is 
about $10 per acre. 

The cost of a water right, which is bought with 
the land, varies as much as the annual cost of the 
water. Under the Fresno Canal in California it is 
about $40 per acre. Census reports show that the 
average first cost of constructing reservoirs, canals, 
etc., and bringing water to the land is about $8.15 
per acre; while the average cost of maintenance is 
about $1.10 per acre. Irrigation in the humid 
states usually costs more, largely because Eastern 
farmers have not the skill and the economy in 
handling water that comes natural to one born in 
an arid region. The average cost of irrigation in 
Connecticut in 1899 was $34.21 per acre, which is 
about four times the average cost of irrigation in 
arid regions. 

NATIONAL AID IN IRRIGATION 

Few Eastern farmers realise the area of land in 
the West that is still owned by the United States 
Government. It amounts to over six hundred 
millions of acres and is located chiefly in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, 
Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, 
Washington and Wyoming. A large part of this 
vast area possesses great inherent fertility, which 
is rendered valueless by the lack of water. As 
President Roosevelt states it, '*In the arid regions 
it is water, not land, which measures production. ' 

Much of this area is traversed by streams that 
can be used to reclaim it. But most of the land 



276 SOILS 

which can be Irrigated by small canals, such as can 
be built with the combined means of a number of 
farmers, or a stock company, has already been 
brought under ditch. These are mostly the river 
bottoms and low bench lands. These constitute, 
however, but a small per cent, of the great area of 
land that it is possible to make productive by 
irrigation. There are large enterprises that are 
beyond the reach of private capital. There are 
millions of acres that may be made as fertile as any 
land on the continent, and at a comparatively 
slight cost per acre, if sufficient capital could be 
found to build the immense reservoirs and canals 
that this reclamation entails. It cannot be done 
by the different states, for interstate disputes con- 
cerning water rights would arise. It is a National, 
not a state or private problem. So it has come 
about that there has been a strong appeal from the 
West for government aid. This appeal has been 
heeded. 

The Reclamation Act of 1902. — Under this Act 
the Government purposes to irrigate, and so make 
productive, a vast area of land now of little 
or no value. Some authorities estimate the total 
area which may be benefited by this Act as 
close to fifty millions of acres, which are loca- 
ted in parts of all the states and territories in 
the arid and semi-arid regions. This Act provides 
that all money from the sale of public lands in 
the arid West shall constitute a special fund to be 
used in the survey and construction of reservoirs 
and canals for the reclamation of arid and semi-arid 
lands. 

The U. S. Government has already expended 
about ten millions of dollars, of thirty-four millions 
appropriated, in making surveys, constructing res- 



FARM IRRIGATION 277 

ervoirs and digging canals. The reservoirs are built 
chiefly for the purpose of storing flood water that 
it may be turned into the streams at low water. 
Additional money for this work will be derived 
from the sale to settlers of government lands in 
these states and territories after it has been brought 
under ditch. This land is to be divided into farms 
of not less than 40 or more than 160 acres, which is 
enough to support a family of five. Only actual 
settlers can take advantage of the privileges of this 
Act; there is no room for speculators. Those who 
settle upon these homesteads are required to repay 
the government, in ten annual instalments or less, 
the extent of their indebtedness, which is the pro- 
portionate cost of supplying their land with water. 
The cost of construction is repaid by the sale of the 
land reclaimed. The money will then be used by 
the government for developing similar enterprises 
in other sections. 

There are already under construction, or def- 
initely in view, fourteen irrigation projects which, 
when completed, will water about a million and a 
half acres of land. These projects are not in a 
few states, but in all of them; there is a com- 
prehensive scheme for irrigating the entire area 
of arid land that it is practicable to irrigate. Small 
systems, called "units," are to be established here 
and there as may be most expedient, with a view to 
future additions and development, until a vast 
area is watered by one great system of reservoirs, 
rivers and canals. 

It was a notable event in the history of American 
agriculture when the first irrigation system to be 
opened under the Reclamation Act — the Truckee- 
Carson Project, in western Nevada — was formally 
opened on June 17, 1905, in the presence of a large 



278 SOILS 

and enthusiastic assemblage. When this single 
unit is completed it will cost about ninety millions 
of dollars and will water about three hundred and 
seventy-five thousand acres in excess of the area 
now supplied. 

In addition to providing Irrigation systems, the 
National Government is endeavouring to aid 
arid farming by protecting the forests of the West. 
Most of the streams from which the w ater is drawn 
have their origin in forested mountains. Cutting 
off the forests or allowing them to be burnt oft 
would make the water supply more uncertain. 
Contrary to the popular notion, forests have but 
little effect in increasing rainfall, but they have a 
very marked effect in regulating the flow of streams. 
Over forty-seven million acres of forests have been 
set aside for the protection of the headwaters of 
irrigation streams. President Roosevelt said in 
his message to Congress, December 3, 1901 : "The 
forests are natural reservoirs. By restraining the 
streams in flood and replenishing them in drought 
they make possible the use of water otherwise 
wasted. Forest conservation is therefore an 
essential condition to water conservation." 

This is a development scheme of stupendous 
proportions. It is worthy of the genius and enter- 
prise of the American people who, as a people, are 
now pledged to execute these plans. 

Windbreaks. — In the subhumid sections of the 
central West, particularly eastern North Dakota, 
eastern South Dakota, central Nebraska, western 
Kansas, central Oklahoma and central Texas, 
windbreaks are frequently of great service for pro- 
tecting the ground from the sweep of dry winds, 
wdiich evaporate much moisture from the soil, and 
often blow the lighter soils into drifts. Sometimes 



FARM IRRIGATION 279 

crops of grains are literally blown out of the ground 
after they are 3 to 5 inches high, their roots being 
uncovered by the blowing away of 2 or 3 inches of 
soil. Even slight barriers, as fences, lessen the 
injury from wind for a distance of several hundred 
feet to leeward. Lombardy poplars, cotton woods 
and locusts are commonly used for high windbreaks, 
and Russian mulberry and the shrubby Artemisia 
for low hedges. A cottonwood windbreak 40 feet 
high has a beneficial influence to a distance of 
650 feet to the leeward, preventing the soil from 
drying out rapidly and from drifting. 

In the plains states where these conditions prevail, 
windbreaks should always be provided ; they are es- 
pecially needed in the subhumid sections where irri- 
gation is not possible, and the rainfall is scanty. 
The plants of a windbreak do steal much moisture 
from the adjacent land, but in windy sections they 
save much more than they steal, by keeping drying 
winds from hugging the ground. Broad fields 
should be avoided and, if possible, a system of 
rotation should be adopted that will keep fields in 
alternate strips of grass or clover and tilled land. 



CHAPTER XI 

MAINTAINING THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL 

THE greatest problem in farming Is that of 
maintaining the fertlHty of the soil. The 
fertility of the soil is its power to produce 
crops. It is not mere plant food; it is water, 
air, sunlight, plant food, temperature, soil bacteria, 
and all the other factors and conditions that 
make a soil habitable for plants. It is concerned 
with the texture of the soil as much as with its 
richness; and its water-moving power as much as 
its composition. Plant food is but one of many 
conditions necessary to the growth of crops, and 
often it is the least essential condition. The 
fertility of the soil is the sum of all the conditions 
that make it possible for the seed to sprout, the 
blade to spread and the ear to ripen. It is the in- 
herent power of the soil to produce crops. 

The problem of maintaining or restoring the 
fertility of farm soils, then, is much broader than 
that of merely adding plant food to them. When 
we speak of fertility we naturally think first of 
manures, fertilisers and other means of enriching 
the soil. These are very important sources of in- 
creased fertility, but fertility is not as dependent 
upon them as many believe. The way in which a 
soil is handled has fully as much to do with its 
fertility as its composition, or the amount of plant 
food added to it. It depends upon plowing, har- 
rowing, cultivating, rolling, drainmg, irrigating and 
all other tillage and cultural operations fully as 

280 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 281 

much as upon manuring, fertilising, fallowing and 
the like. A really comprehensive discussion of 
soil fertility should consider all the ways in which 
a soil is handled or is acted upon by natural forces, 
as well as means of enriching it, and of conserving 
native richness. The methods of handling soil and 
their relation to productivity have been discussed 
in previous chapters. The remaining chapters 
will be devoted to the methods of enriching soils 
and husbanding natural resources. 

Many Views. — There are many views, and un- 
avoidably many conflicting views, on this great 
problem. Some seek to solve it in one way and 
some in another. Certain men lay most stress on 
the texture of the soil and the movement of soil 
water as a measure of the producing power of a 
soil. Others emphasise thorough tillage above 
all else. Another says, "Grow clover and plow it 
under; it is the key to fertility." Others lay 
stress upon good texture and the addition of humus. 
We hear something of inoculating the soil to 
make it fertile. Even now the most commonly ac- 
cepted views on soil fertility have been challenged 
by an eminent soil physicist whose conclusions, if 
accepted, will almost revolutionise our views about 
the effect of manures and fertilisers on soils. In 
addition to this honest difference of opinion, there 
are many quack remedies for preserving or restor- 
ing soil fertility. The following pages present 
the views most commonly accepted at this time. 

THE NATIVE RICHNESS OF SOILS 

Plant food is not fertility, but it has a very im- 
portant influence on fertility. A soil's power to 
produce crops is very rarely measured by the 



282 SOILS 

amount of plant food it contains, yet mere richness 
is a very valuable asset of a farm soil, and no man 
can afford to disregard it in the modern emphasis 
on good texture and other desirable attributes. 

The actual richness of a soil in plant food de- 
pends largely upon its origin and its fineness. A 
leachy, sandy soil, for example, is not likely to con- 
tain more than a third as much plant food as an 
alluvial clay; a limestone soil is usually richer than 
a slate soil, and so on. 

The Soil a Storehouse of Plant Food.— The point 
that needs to be emphasised most, however, is not 
that farm soils vary greatly in native richness, but 
that practically all farm soils, including those that 
we consider poor, contain a vast amount of plant 
food. 

The analyses of representative soils in the 
Appendix show that all of them contain almost 
unbelievable quantities of the plant foods that we 
buy and apply so grudgingly. An average farm 
soil usually contains about 4,000 lbs. of nitro- 
gen, 6,000 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 20,000 
lbs. of potash per acre in the upper eight 
inches of soil. "Worn-out" soils, which scarcely 
produce enough to pay for cropping them, often 
contain nearly as much plant food as this — while 
some rich soils have over 6,000 lbs. of nitrogen, 
10,000 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 50,000 lbs. of 
potash per acre in the first eight inches. Besides all 
this large amount of plant food in the surface soil, 
the soil below the first eight inches usually con- 
tains nearly as much, and a part of this can be used 
by the roots of most farm crops. 

These figures are astounding to those who have 
believed that a soil gradually ceases to be produc- 
tive because the plant food in it becomes exhausted. 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 283 

The chemists give us indisputable proof that even 
a soil that has become so "poor" that it hardly 
pays to crop it, is likely to have stored v^ithin it tons 
upon tons of plant food; that it is in no way ex- 
hausted, as we have been taught to believe. Yet 
the fact remains that this same soil will not pro- 
duce large crops. What, then, is the trouble ? 

Plant Food Locked Up. — Much of the tons of 
plant food that the chemist finds in ordinary farm 
soils, is "locked up", or unavailable, from two 
causes. In the first place it may not be in the right 
form for plants to use, it may be in a compound 
that is distasteful to the plants; or it may be in a 
form that is not soluble in soil water, so that it 
cannot be absorbed by the roots. Plants accept 
food only when it is in a certain form. The chem- 
ist, however, cannot tell how much of the total 
amount of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid 
that he finds in soil is in such shape that plants can 
use it. He cannot determine with any degree of 
certainty what proportion of the 4,000 lbs. of ni- 
trogen, 6,000 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 20,000 
lbs of potash that are in an acre of average farm 
soil is in the right form for crops to use. There 
is no way of finding out this very important point 
except to grow plants upon the soil. 

Poor Texture a Cause of Infertility. — Part of 
this great amount of plant food that is found in all 
ordinary farm soils may have been made useless to 
crops, for the time being, by poor texture, lack of 
warmth and poor drainage. 

Mere richness in plant food avails nothing if 
there is not enough water to make a very large 
quantity of a weak solution of that food for the roots 
to absorb. The arid lands of the West are very 
rich in plant food, but are valueless for cropping 



284 SOILS 

until water is applied to them. In many cases the 
amount of water in the soil measures its producing 
power more than the amount of plant food in it. 
Furthermore, the tons of plant food in a soil are as 
valueless as sand unless the soil has the power to 
move water rapidly to meet the needs of the crop. 

Under-drainage may make an unproductive, yet 
rich, soil productive. Plowing under green- 
manures may effect a similar improvement. These 
methods are discussed in detail in subsequent 
chapters. The point to be emphasised is that 
although most farm soils are very rich in plant food, 
usually but a small percentage of this can be used 
by crops, and that tillage, drainage, a rotation of 
crops and the addition of humus are methods of 
increasing the usefulness of native plant food. 

SOILS EXHAUSTED OF PLANT FOOD 

We ordinarily think that a soil becomes ex- 
hausted of plant food chiefly by continuous cropping. 
We see the yields from a soil that produced sixty 
bushels of corn per acre fifty years ago, when it was 
virgin, gradually dwindle to twenty-five bushels, 
with prospects of going lower still. On the face of 
it, this is due to the exhaustion of the plant food in 
the soil by the corn crop. But is it .? The drain of 
crops upon the soil's store of plant food is really 
so slight, when compared with the total amount 
of plant food in the soil, that it is scarcely worth 
mentioning as a cause of the increasing unpro- 
ductiveness of that soil. A crop of cotton of one 
bale per acre, which is twice the average yield, 
makes a draft upon the soil of 28 lbs. of nitrogen, 
9 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 13 lbs. of potash each 
year per acre. A crop of 50 bushels corn per acre 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 285 

removes 96 lbs. of nitrogen, 33 lbs. of phosphoric 
acid and 68 lbs. of potash each year per acre. A 
crop of 1| tons of hay per acre removes 35 lbs. of 
nitrogen, 7 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 39 lbs. of 
potash; of wheat, at the average yield of 14 bushels 
per acre, 33 lbs. of nitrogen, 10 lbs. of phosphoric 
acid and 17 lbs. of potash. 

Compare these small amounts of plant food 
removed by average crops with the vast amounts 
that are in ordinary soils. What are they when 
compared with the 4,000 lbs. of nitrogen, 6,000 
lbs. of phosphoric acid and 20,000 lbs. of potash 
that the upper 8 inches of an average soil contains ! 
In addition to all this is the undeveloped 
richness of the subsoil, which becomes of use 
from year to year. The average soil ought to 
produce bumper crops for hundreds of years with- 
out adding any fertiliser, if we considered but two 
facts — the great amount of plant food in the soil, 
and the very small amount removed by crops. 

But other things must be considered. If only 
a small part of the 4,000 lbs. of nitrogen, 6,000 lbs. 
of phosphoric acid and 20,000 lbs. of potash is 
available to plants — as is usually the case — the 
drain of the crop upon this amount of available 
plant food may be quite heavy. This is especially 
true on the light and leachy soils, from which the 
soluble plant food is quickly lost by leaching. In 
other words, the amounts of plant food drawn from 
the soil by farm crops makes little impression upon 
the total amount that is in it, but it often does make 
a decided impression upon the amount of soluble 
or available plant food in the soil, which is, after 
all, the kind of plant food that is of chief interest 
to the farmer. 

The gradual decrease in yields on soils that have 



286 SOILS 

been cropped for many years is occasionally due, 
in part, to the exhaustion of soluble plant food. 
Usually it is due, wholly or largely, to the way in 
which the soil has been handled. It is more apt 
to be a problem in improving the physical con- 
dition of the soil than in enriching it. This fact 
has been proved on thousands of American farms, 
where better tillage, more thorough drainage, 
rotation of crops, green manuring and other 
methods of improving the texture of a soil have 
been practised. These matters are discussed at 
length in other chapters. 

LOSS OF FERTILITY BY EROSION 

Not all of the plant food that is lost each year from 
farms is carried off in crops. A far more damag- 
ing cause of reduced yields on some farms is 
erosion, or the washing of soil. This removes the 
best part of it — the surface soil that has been made 
fine and has had its plant food made soluble by 
weathering. 

The loss of fertility by erosion is one of the 
greatest leaks on American farms. The chief 
reason why erosion is so dangerous is that it is 
insidious. Its ravages are not very conspicuous 
until it has done much damaore. Erosion does not 
ruin a soil in a single night, or a single season; it 
starts from small beginnings, usually unnoticed, 
and creeps stealthily upon the land. Every tiny 
rill trickling down the slope carries off some of the 
finest and richest soil on the farm. After a heavy 
rain the puddles in the hollows are muddy. The 
deep furrows left up and down the slope by the 
cultivator teeth become miniature watercourses, 
and the trickling water exacts a tribute of rich 








ZB 



< §§• 
y. 

« ^— 

< g 5j 

< a 







8(i. THE OHIO RIVER FLOODING ITS MEADOWS 
It leaves half an inch of rich mud upon the land, which is commonly used for corn, 
fertility of many bottom lands is increased in this way 



The 




PASTURING WITH CATTLE 
This is the best method of keeping the fertility of some lands, especially Ihose that 
are steep, rocky and inclined to wash 




88. SHEEP AT PASTURE 
They congregate at night upon the hilltops, which are enriched by their droppings. 
In western West \'irginia, and elsewhere, sheep husbandry is a 
popular method of enriching hill lands 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 287 

soil before it joins the large rill by the road. The 
cornfield that was left bare all winter has lost some 
of its best loam by planting time. Gullies appear 
on the farm here and there, widening and deepen- 
ing after every rain. The soil on the knolls and 
hills becomes thin and yellow, for the rich, black 
surface soil has been washed into the bottoms, and 
part of it has hurried off to help build up some 
excellent farming land down stream. 

After a heavy rain the farmer can see the best 
part of his soil creeping, running, racing away from 
him. A thousand murky rills slowly meander 
across his plowed ground, and gather force in the 
hollows. A hundred turbid rivulets pour down 
the hollows and join waters in the gulch. A dozen 
muddy brooklets rush down the gulch, swell the 
brook into a creek and race down stream, bearing 
away tons of the rich silt and loam that make 
plants grow. When the rain is over and the soaked 
soil has dried out enough to till, there are gravelly 
places that the farmer finds it hard to make pro- 
ductive, and rocks are exposed. 

In extreme cases the soil may be almost or wholly 
ruined for cropping in a few years, becoming 
gullied and thin. In most cases, however, the loss 
is less conspicuous, but scarcely less disastrous. 
This is an exact report of what is taking place 
to-day on thousands of American farms. 

The Great Loss by Erosion in the South. — Every 
farm that has an irregularity of surface, however 
slight, pays tribute to the force of moving water. 
The most serious losses from erosion, however, are 
on hill farms. The red clay soils of the South, and 
especially in the uplands of Tennessee, Georgia, 
the Carolinas, Mississippi and along the banks of 
the Ohio River, are gouged and gullied every year. 



288 SOILS 

unless properly handled, until they may become 
almost or quite useless for cropping 

W. J. McGee reports: "The destruction is not 
confined to a single field, or to a single upland, but 
extends over much of the upland. ... It 
is probably within the truth to estimate that 10 
per cent, of upland Mississippi has been so far 
converted into bad lands as to be practically ruined 
for agriculture under existing commercial con- 
ditions, and that the annual loss in real estate 
exceeds the revenue from all sources; and all this 
havoc has been wrought within a quarter century.'* 
This is an extreme case, but it illustrates what is 
taking place, in a lesser degree, in many other parts 
of the South. 

We have thousands of square miles of lands that 
are rapidly approaching desolation by erosion. 
Over a large area the work of destruction has 
already gone so far as to make it impracticable to 
try to save the land for cropping. The problem of 
erosion is most serious on the hill farms of the 
South ; but hill lands in California, eastern Oregon, 
Washington, and Montana, have been grazed so 
close that the soil has been exposed, gullies have 
appeared, and the lands are now nearly worthless. 
Erosion is also serious on sloping lands in all other 
parts of the country. 

METHODS OF CHECKING EROSION 

The method that will be most practicable de- 
pends upon the locality, the contour of the land, the 
nature of the soil, the crop and other local matters. 

Preserve Forests and Wooded Strips. — In extreme 
cases it is necessary to retain wooded areas running 
across the slopes that are subject to washing. 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 289 

If the land is hilly and will probably wash 
badly if cleared, the less of it that is cleared, the 
better. We rarely find bad gullies in woodlands, 
even on the steepest hillsides; the roots of trees 
hold the soil and the humus beneath them ab- 
sorbs and holds the water, preventing it from 
gathering in channels. Moreover, much of the 
rainfall does not reach the soil, being intercepted 
by the foliage and evaporated before it reaches the 

f round. The direct force of the rain is also bro- 
en. It may be wiser to farm only the bottom land 
and gentle slopes, and cultivate them more in- 
tensely, than to clear uplands that are bound to 
wash badly after most of the humus in them is 
destroyed by cropping. 

If it is necessary to clear long slopes much may 
be done to prevent serious loss from erosion by 
alternating strips of forest with strips of tilled or 
pasture land. The retaining strips of forest should 
be twenty or more rods wide, depending upon the 
steepness of the slope, and should run diagonally 
across the slope or follow the contour of it. It is 
especially necessary to keep the tops of hills in 
forest, because there is where the water be- 
gins to collect; moreover, the soil of hill-tops is 
apt to be thinner and poorer than soil lower down 
the slope. 

Slopes that have already been cleared and have 
started to wash badly may have strips of woods 
planted across them. In a surprisingly short 
time trees will make an effective barrier to erosion. 
It may be wise to give up an entire slope that is 
washing badly to forest growth. Native trees 
usually come in quickly, but if they do not seeds or 
seedlings may be planted. 

Planting Trees to Prevent Erosion. — When 



290 SOILS 

planting forest trees to prevent or check erosion, if 
the land is not too rough or stony, it is best first to 
plow the land deeply. Most tree seeds are benefited 
by partial shade the first year and naay be sown 
with a field crop, as peas, oats, or other grain. 
These seeds may be of such quick-growing trees as 
white maple, loblolly pine, elm, green and white-ash, 
and black locust. The seeds should be gathered 
as soon as ripe and sown immediately. From three 
to five bushels of the winged seeds should be sown, 
and others in proportion according to size. It is 
best to sow each kind separately and thickly enough 
to secure a dense stand. The quick-growing trees, 
as elm, soft maple, and ash, are not as valuable for 
timber as hardwood trees. Black locust and loblolly 
pine are among the most useful trees for this pur- 
pose. Catalpa speciosa and chestnut may also be 
used to advantage. 

Transplanting seedlings is more expensive than 
seeding and the results are more or less uncertain, 
so it should be done only when seeding is impracti- 
cable. Soft-wooded sorts, as the poplars, box elder, 
also the catalpa, are most commonly propagated by 
cuttings. The cuttings should be 13 to 16 inches 
long, of two- or three-year-old wood, and should be 
taken in late winter. The lower ends are laid in 
water until planting. They are planted most 
rapidly with a dibble and so deep that only two 
or three buds are above ground. 

If trees for transplanting are to be grown from 
seed make beds 3 to 4 feet wide in a rich mellow 
soil; cover the seeds lightly, and mulch with forest 
leaves until they have germinated. Shade the beds 
by piling brush and boughs upon them, or by build- 
ing lath roofs over them, an open space the width of 
a lath being left between laths. The seedlings are 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 291 

ready to transplant when two to four years old. 
In many cases it may only be necessary to dig wild 
seedlings. Seedlings two to four years old are often 
found in great numbers on the outskirts of wood- 
land. Set all plants, whether seedlings or cuttings, 
not more than three feet apart each way, giving 
5,000 to 7,000 per acre. In some cases it may be 
well to make a first planting of the quick-growing 
softwood trees, and plant the hardwood trees 
later. 

Directing Water. — Much may be done to check 
erosion by directing the water into legitimate 
channels, instead of allowing it to meander over the 
fields, making channels that broaden and deepen 
with each rain. Careful farmers spend consider- 
able time in their fields during and after heavy 
rains, guiding, checking, and diverting the rivulets. 
In most fields there are a number of depressions, 
or natural water courses, that should be kept free 
of obstructions. 

Terracing. — One of the most common en- 
deavours to check erosion in the South is by ter- 
racing. Much of the farm land in Georgia, Ala- 
bama and the Carolinas is terraced. The slope 
is laid off into a series of checks which follow the 
contour, giving a series of nearly perfectly level 
steps upon which water may remain and be ab- 
sorbed. The width of these varies from 50 to 300 
feet. The banks of the terrace are usually sodded 
or seeded with grass. The land between the banks 
is brought to an approximate level, sometimes by 
scraping but more commonly by moving it down 
hill gradually with a reversible plow; it often 
requires several years to bring the surface into a 
level condition. 

Side-hill Ditches. — ^Another method is to build 



292 SOILS 

side-hill ditches, which follow the contour and have 
a fall of 1 to 5 inches in 100 feet. They are 6 to 
10 feet apart on a very steep slope and 15 to 30 
feet apart on a gentle slope. The ditches are 
made mostly with a plow. They should be sodded 
with grass. There should be no low places where 
the water will collect and break through. Unless 
built with great care they are apt to scour or break. 

Terraces and side-hill ditches are not used now 
as much as formerly. They prevent washing in 
many cases, but they occupy land that ought to be 
in crops and they breed weeds. The land is cut 
up into small fields, increasing the cost of produc- 
tion. In many cases terraced or ditched hillsides 
wash badly. Deep plowing and green-manuring 
are usually more serviceable than terracing for 
preventing these soils from washing, and all the 
land can be cropped. 

Holding the Land With Soil-binding Plants. — 
This is the most practicable solution in many cases, 
especially on gentle slopes. If erosion has not pro- 
gressed so far that the land will not grow a thick 
turf, the slope may often be made into a pasture or 
meadow with gratifying results. Grass roots hold 
the soil tenaciously and the stubble divides surface 
water and prevents it from accumulating. But 
it is often difficult to get a close turf established. 

Grasses with creeping root-stalks, like Bermuda 
grass, are most valuable for this purpose. Ber- 
muda grass is the salvation of many Southern hill- 
sides. It makes a very dense turf in a remark- 
ably short time. Sometimes it is established in 
this way: Shallow furrows are plowed diagonally 
across the slope, 4 to 6 feet apart. Small pieces of 
Bermuda grass are dropped m the furrows, 2 to 3 
feet apart, and covered. Bermuda grass spreads 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 293 

with great rapidity by means of its underground 
stems. In two years it has filled the furrow and 
the field is then plowed diagonally across the fur- 
rows. This distributes the grass and it soon takes 
complete possession of the land, effectually pre- 
ventmg further washing. Bermuda grass makes 
excellent hay and pasturage. 

Other grasses besides Bermuda have distinct 
merit as soil binders. In the North the Hungarian 
brome grass is especially valuable for this purpose. 
The little Lespedeza, or Japanese clover, that 
comes naturally into cleared ground and pastures 
in many parts of the South, is a useful soil-binder, 
and valuable for pasturage. It is moreover, a 
leguminous plant and enriches the soil. The in- 
creasing use of cover crops shows the growing 
appreciation of the loss by erosion on bare lands 
during the winter and early spring. Rye or crim- 
son clover, sown at the last cultivation of corn, 
covers the field with a mat of herbage during the 
winter, effectively preventing serious washing of 
the soil. Other benefits of cover crops are 
considered in the following chapter. 

Breaks. — Any material used to check small 
gullies is called a "break," in the South. Corn 
stalks, cotton stems, brush and inferior hay are 
commonly used for this purpose. The material is 
usually laid lengthwise of the gully, making a dam, 
which should be wide enough and high enough to 
back up the water and deposit the soil it contains. 
If the gully is large it may be necessary to hold 
down the brush with logs or poles, the ends of which 
are firmly fastened into the sides of the gully and 
braced with stones; if small, a few forkfuls 
of stalks or brush may answer. Willow, 
poplar, or alder are preferred for making a 



294 SOILS 

brush break on uncultivated land because they 
often sprout, take root and then permanently 
hold the soil. 

Breaks are almost indispensable to good farming 
in many parts of the South and ought to be used 
more on the upland farms of other parts of the 
country. The practice of searching for gullies and 
checking them with breaks should be as much a 
part of farm routine as plowing and seeding. Care- 
ful farmers go over all their cultivated land several 
times a year and check gullies. A gully that can 
be stopped with a forkful of brush to-day may need 
half a wagon load if left a year. It must be re- 
membered, however, that breaks are a temporary 
expedient. The real trouble is the inability of the 
soil to absorb much water rapidly. Deep plowing, 
green manuring or sodding may effect a permanent 
improvement. 

Increasing the Water-holding Capacity of the 
Soil. — The more readily a soil absorbs water, 
the more it can hold without running over as sur- 
face drainage, and hence the less likely is it to be 
injured by erosion. The soils most commonly 
subject to gullying are clays. These absorb water 
very slowly, so that during a heavy rain a very 
large percentage of the water is not absorbed by 
the soil — even though the soil is quite dry — but 
flows off as surface drainage, causing erosion. 
One of the most practicable ways of checking 
erosion is to increase the water-holding capacity of 
the soil by under-drainage, by adding humus and 
by deep plowing. The soils that are most com- 
monly subject to erosion, however, it is not usually 
practicable to underdrain; the addition of humus 
and deep plowing are more serviceable. Plowing 
under green-manuring crops makes these gullying 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 295 

clay soils lighter and more porous, so that they 
absorb more water, and absorb it much faster. 

Deep plowing increases the depth of the soil 
that can hold film water, so that less runs off on 
top. Shallow plowing makes the soil reservoir 
shallow, so that rains quickly fill it, spill over it, 
and run down the surface. The one-negro-one 
mule-one-shallow-working-plow combination is re- 
sponsible for much of the washing of Southern 
hill farms. Land has been plowed for years not 
over four or five inches deep, when it ought to be 
plowed not less than eight inches deep. 

Tillage Operations Aflecting Erosion. — The sim- 
ple precaution of running the rows of crops across 
the slope, not up and down it, so that the culti- 
vation furrows may not be in a line with gravity, 
will do much to prevent erosion. The furrows be- 
come watercourses during very heavy rain. The 
loss in this way is especially serious if the furrows are 
left running up and down slopes during the winter. 
Every upland farmer is familiar with the triangular 
patches of fine soil at the lower ends of these fur- 
rows in the spring. The aggregate loss in this way 
may be very great. The rows of crops should be 
kept as nearly on a level as possible, even though 
this necessitates many windings. We are often 
told that straight rows look business-like, and 
crooked rows slovenly. That is true for the 
prairie farmer but not for the upland farmer. 

Broad-tooth cultivators leave the soil in deep 
furrows and high ridges, and so assist erosion. 
The broad "sweep" and plow-like cultivators so 
commonly used for "laying by" cotton and corn 
are the worst offenders. Sweeps do excellent 
service in cutting off weeds, but they leave the soil 
much ridged and furrowed, the beginnings of 



296 SOILS 

gullies. Tools of this character are often indis- 
pensable, but the furrows they make should be 
levelled off with a shallow- working implement, as a 
spike-tooth cultivator. 

The practice of ridging corn, potatoes, cotton, 
and other crops is responsible for much gullying. 
Unless ridging is made necessary by poor drainage, 
it is rarely a profitable practice. Deep plowing 
and deep planting may accomplish the same re- 
sult, with less danger. Level culture should be 
practised wherever erosion is likely to be serious. 

The somewhat detailed attention given to ero- 
sion in this chapter is not out of proportion to its 
importance in the farm economy of this country. 
Erosion is stealing from many farms the fertility 
that should have been bequeathed to posterity. 
There should be an increasing concern among 
farmers about this phase of soil fertility. 

FALLOWING AND SOIL FERTILITY 

Fallowing — leaving land uncropped for one or 
more seasons — was a common farm practice up to 
the beginning of the last century. The Mosaic 
law commanded that land should be fallowed one 
year in seven. At present it is rarely practised in 
America, except in t«he arid regions, although still 
quite popular in many parts of Europe. The 
cnief reason for this is the rapid improvement of 
tillage tools. The crude tillage tools of earlier 
years pulverised the soil so imperfectly, that the in- 
crease in available plant food by weathering was 
very slow; hence crops quickly exhausted the 
soil. It was soon noticed that if land was 
cultivated while it was being rested it would be 
more productive thereafter. The chief advantage 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 297 

of the old-time fallowing was that it promoted 
weathering and so increased the amount of 
soluble plant food in the few inches of surface 
soil that were stirred by the clumsy tools of that 
time. Modern tillage tools prepare the soil so 
thoroughly and deeply that a larger area is laid 
under tribute, and weathering, and other agencies 
that increase fertility, have a better opportunity to 
work. There are still occasions, however, when 
fallowing is beneficial and sometimes very essential. 

Fallowing to Store Water. — The value of fallow- 
ing in American farming is chiefly in storing 
water in the soil and cleaning the land of weeds, 
rather than in increasing the amount of soluble 
plant food in the soil. In the semi-arid and 
arid sections of the West where "dry farming'* 
is practised, fallowing is often indispensable. The 
land is cropped one year and fallowed the next, or it 
is fallowed one year in three. Fallowed land is 
plowed and harrowed so that the soil will receive 
and hold all the rainfall. Where the rainfall is 
less than ten to fifteen inches such a proceeding 
may be absolutely necessary. King found that 
the fallowed part of a certain field contained 203 
tons more water per acre in the spring succeeding 
the fallow than the part that was not fallowed. 
Even at the end of the season, after large crops of 
grain had been taken from the land, it contained 
179 tons of water more than the unf allowed land. 
This shows that summer fallowing has a marked 
and lasting influence on the moisture content of 
soils. It is likely that fallowing to store water will 
always be practised in America far more than 
fallowing for any other specific purpose. 

Fallowing to Set Free Plant Food. — Fallowing 
increases the amount of available plant food in the 



298 SOILS 

soil, especially nitrogen. The soil of the fallow 
field is stirred frequently and is warm and moist, 
conditions that are favourable to making inert 
plant food soluble. This plant food is stored for 
the crop of another year unless the soil is leachy, 
in which case much of the quickly soluble nitrogen 
may be lost. This is the chief disadvantage of 
fallowing on certain soils. It is doubtful if it is 
ever wise to fallow land chiefly for the purpose of 
increasing its supply of available plant food. 
Usually the same result can be secured, without 
losing the use of the land, by a rotation of crops and 
better tillage. 

Fallowing may be used to advantage in some 
cases for cleaning land of weeds, especially the 
weeds that gain a foothold in grain farming. Bare 
summer fallowing is an excellent means of getting 
rid of both perennial and annual weeds, especially 
the Canadian thistle. But if summer-fallowed 
land is not kept harrowed, fallowing may increase 
weediness. 

The Methods of Fallowing. — Land that is to be 
fallowed should be plowed early and at once fitted 
thoroughly. Most of the weeds will immediately 
start to grow ; these may then be killed by plowing 
again or by harrowing. In some sections fallow 
land is plowed three times during the season. 
Such a mixing and interchanging of particles 
cannot help but make a soil more fertile, as well as 
increase its moisture content and improve its tex- 
ture. In some cases one plowing and one to three 
harrowings, at intervals during the summer, may 
be about as effective as three plowings. The im- 
portant point is to keep noxious weeds from start- 
ing; some fallows are allowed to become foul with 
weeds. If the fallow is to be followed by rye or 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 299 

wheat, the last plowing is usually given before the 
middle of August, so that the soil may have time to 
settle and become compact before seeding. 

Oftentimes a short fallow may be practicable. 
This consists simply in tilling the soil during the 
few weeks that may elapse between the harvesting 
of one crop, as barley, clover, or oats, and the sow- 
ing of the next crop, as wheat. Occasionally land 
is left idle for several weeks, or longer, when it 
ought to be at work, either growing a green-manure 
to plow under, or being subjected to the weathering 
that is set in motion by tillage. 

Summary of Value of Fallowing. — In American 
farm practice, fallowing is used to advantage chiefly 
for increasing the water content of soils, and for 
cleansing them of weeds, rather than for increasing 
their supply of available plant food and improving 
their texture. It is often practicable in the dry 
sections but rarely in the humid sections. It is not 
adapted to leachy soils. In this country fallowing 
is practised chiefly in the arid and semi-arid 
regions, under dry farming, and mostly in the 
culture of wheat and oats. 

ROTATION OF CROPS 

Rotation of crops is the order or system in 
which crops are grown upon the same land, and 
refers to the sequence of crops when a number of 
different kinds are grown, in distinction from the 
one crop system. 

Very early in the history of agriculture it was 
noticed that many crops grew much better if they 
followed some other crops than if grown con- 
tinuously on the same land. Centuries ago En- 
glish farmers divided their land into three parts. 



300 SOILS 

one part being in spring-sown grain, another in 
fall-sown grain, the other third being summer- 
fallowed. In more recent years farmers have 
noticed that it not only benefits some crops to follow 
different crops, but also that it often makes a de- 
cided difference what crops are associated in the 
rotation. 

The practice of growing different crops in suc- 
cession, instead of one crop continuously, did not 
originate with man. Crop rotation is almost 
universal in Nature. The oak forest is cut off and 
soon the land is shadowed with pines. The pines 
grow lusty, fall before the woodman's ax, and oaks 
or white birches take their place. The low-bush 
blueberry and the arbutus flourish in the hardwood 
clearings. Everywhere we may see that Nature 
rarely follows one of her crops with another of the 
same kind of plant. The wise economy of her 
rotations we may study with profit. 

WHY A ROTATION IS BENEFICIAL 

A rotation is usually beneficial in several ways; 
sometimes one benefit is most pronounced, some- 
times another. The explanation that one naturally 
thinks of first is that it affects the relative supply 
of the different plant foods in the soil. Every 
farmer knows that some crops are "harder upon 
the soil" than others. The chemist, also, says 
that some plants use more plant food than others. 
Different crops take from the soil, not different 
kinds of plant food, as some suppose, but different 
amounts of the same plant foods. Thus wheat 
needs more phosphoric acid and less potash than 
fruits. Oats require more potash than corn. Crop- 
ping a soil continuously with corn, for example, is 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 301 

likely to exhaust it sooner of the available plant food 
that corn needs than if clover, wheat and potatoes 
are grown in a rotation with corn. The producing 
power of a soil is measured by the amount of the 
essential plant food it contains which is least 
abundant; if it contains 20,000 lbs. of potash and 
only 2,000 lbs. of phosphoric acid, it can produce no 
larger crops than the supply of available phosphoric 
acid is sufficient to nourish, A rotation of crops, 
if it is well planned, does not subject the soil to a 
continuous drain of plant foods in the same pro- 
portions; it changes the proportions and so makes 
the plant food in the soil go farther. 

The Different Rooting Habits of Crops. — Another 
reason why a rotation of crops is easier on a soil 
than single-crop farming results from the different 
rooting habits of plants. Timothy or blue grass, 
for example, are shallow-rooting; they draw most 
of their nourishment from the upper six inches of 
soil. Clover and alfalfa are deep-rooting; their 
long tap roots penetrate many feet deep in all 
ordinary soils, gathering a large amount of food 
below the depth to which the roots of timothy and 
blue grass penetrate. The roots of corn forage 
deeper than the roots of oats. Mangels, sugar- 
beets and parsnips root deeper than round turnips 
and table beets, and so on with other farm crops. 

The relation of this fact to soil fertility is the 
advantage to the soil of having crops grown upon it 
that root at different depths. A soil may be almost 
exhausted of available plant food for shallow-rooting 
crops yet contain much for deep-rooting crops. 
The fertility of the soil is thus conserved by ro- 
tating crops that not only differ in their demands 
upon the soil but also in the relative area of soil 
that they place under tribute. 



302 SOILS 

A third advantage of rotating crops, in its rela- 
tion to soil fertility, is the opportunity provided for 
improving the texture of the soil. When crops are 
harvested the roots and stubble are plowed under, 
and since crops vary in the amount of herbage 
returned, and the depth and extent of the root 
system, there is greater likelihood that all parts 
will be benefited by the humus resulting from the 
decay of roots if several crops are grown. Further- 
more, a rotation permits the use of cover crops, 
catch crops, and other means of improving texture, 
as discussed in Chapter XII. 

Rotation of Crops and Weediness. — Certain weeds 
go with a certain crop ; they seem to find a niche in 
its cultivation that just fits their needs. Thus 
we have quack grass in the asparagus bed, purslane 
in the onions and Canada thistles in the wheat. 
Furthermore, some crops can be kept free from 
weeds much easier than others. Note how much 
faster weeds multiply when sown crops are grown, 
as rye, oats or wheat, than when crops that are 
inter- tilled are grown, as corn and potatoes. In 
this country, weeds cause the greatest loss in the 
grain fields of the West, where continuous cropping, 
with or without summer fallow, is practised. 
Wherever the single-crop system is dominant, weeds 
become a serious nuisance. 

A specific instance where a rotation of crops 
may be used for cleaning land of weeds will call 
attention to the usefulness of the practice. Wild 
carrot and plantain are very troublesome weeds 
in some localities, especially in the Northeastern 
States. These plants do not produce seeds until 
mid-summer. If a two-year rotation of wheat or 
rye and clover is practised these weeds may be 
almost completely exterminated, for as soon as 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 303 

the clover is cut they immediately throw up their 
flower stalks. These may be mowed a few weeks 
after the clover is removed, but a better way is to 
plow the clover stubble soon after the first cutting, 
in preparation for winter wheat or rye. 

The value of a rotation of crops for killing weeds 
depends largely upon the fact that different crops 
receive different kinds of tillage. Different tools 
are used. Weeds that escape destruction under the 
system of tillage given one crop are caught by the 
tillage of another. Sown crops, especially grains, 
should be rotated with tilled crops. Grains cover 
the ground sparsely and there is no inter-tillage, 
so weeds like the "paint-brush," Canada thistle, 
dock, and Russian thistle, find an excellent oppor- 
tunity to gain a foothold. Some crops that grow 
very rapidly and quickly shade the ground, as 
potatoes, are not as apt to be weedy as slow-growing 
and sparse-foliage crops. This should be re- 
membered when planning a rotation. 

Insect and Disease Injury Lessened by Rotation. — 
Each crop has its own peculiar troubles. Some 
of these are fungous diseases. These are spread 
mostly by seed-like bodies called spores; each 
disease has a different kind of spore, which can 
cause the disease only upon a certain crop. Thus 
the spore of potato scab can make scab on po- 
tatoes, but no other disease, either on potatoes or 
any other plant. The longer a certain kind of 
crop is grown upon the same piece of land the more 
the land becomes infected with parts of diseased 
plants and with spores, and the greater is the like- 
lihood that the crop will be injured by the disease. 
This is particularly true of such common diseases 
as potato scab, and the club root of cabbages and 
turnips, which increase very rapidly on crops grown 



304 SOILS 

for several years on the same soil. It is less true 
of corn smut, onion smut, and ergot, which increase 
slowly. A change of crops deprives these fungous 
diseases of the only kind of plants upon which they 
can feed, so they disappear. Moreover, crops are 
less vigorous when grown continuously upon the 
same land, and are therefore more susceptible to 
disease. 

A number of important insect pests of farm 
crops may be controlled to a greater or less extent 
by crop rotation. In general, each crop has its 
own pests, although insects often feed on more than 
one kind of plant. Meadows kept for a long time 
in grass are likely to become mfested with the 
larvae of the May beetle, and with wire worms. 
A rotation will prevent this. 

Keev the Soil Busy. — If but one crop is grown, 
the soil is usually left bare during part of the year. 
This is poor farming, except when the land is pur- 
posely fallowed. No ground should be allowed to 
remain idle wJien it might be growing crops, either 
to sell or to turn imder. The busier a soil is kept, 
provided the right kind of crops are grown, and 
provision is made for green-manuring, the more 
productive it should be. This is more true of 
Eastern than of Western farming. As land becomes 
dearer, it becomes increasingly important to keep 
it busy all the season by means of a well-considered 
rotation. 

Aside from maintaining or increasing the fer- 
tility of the soil, a rotation may economise labour. 
It distributes the labour throughout the year, since 
crops differ in the time when they are sown and the 
time it takes to bring them to maturity. This more 
continuous employment may be exceedingly ad- 
vantageous, enabling the farmer to secure cheaper 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 305 

and better help, and to give his stock a greater 
variety of foods. There is, furthermore, a con- 
siderable advantage in having the money for crops 
coming in at different seasons of the year. It is 
better for the average man to have $3,000 in in- 
stalments during the year than $4,000 in a lump. 
The extent to which crop rotation is practised 
is a reliable index to the development of the agri- 
culture of a region. As farming becomes more 
intensive, specialised and refined, rotations in- 
crease. In some of the Western States a systematic 
rotation of crops is now almost unknown. 

CHOOSING CROPS FOR A ROTATION 

One could plan an ideal rotation, so far as main- 
taining the fertility of the soil is concerned, which 
it would be utter folly to put into operation 
because of economic conditions — the demands 
of the market, the amount of help available, 
and similar factors. Few rotations meet all the 
requirements, both of the soil and of farm economy. 
It is usually a question of adopting the rotation 
that gives the most gain and the least loss; so the 
planning of a rotation is largely a local and personal 
matter. There are, however, some general prin- 
ciples that ought to be considered. 

1. A rotation should contain as many years as 
is practicable of the crop that pays the greatest 
profit per acre. The "money crop" should dic- 
tate the rotation. The less profitable crops should 
be subservient to the money crop, and shouldL make 
the soil congenial to it. If cotton is the money crop, 
and the soil is well adapted for growing it, build 
the rotation around cotton and let the other crops 
bolster it up. If hay is the money crop, and the 



306 SOILS 

soil makes a strong meadow, keep the land in hay 
up to the point where the soil would be injured and 
the yield reduced by retaining it longer in sod. If 
corn is the money crop, grow corn to the limit of 
the soil's patience, and rotate it with other crops 
that are most serviceable in maintaining the fer- 
tility of a first-class corn field. Maximum profit 
is the main point to observe in planning a rotation, 
bearing in mind that no crop is profitable if 
it is secured by robbing and impoverishing 
the soil. 

2. A rotation should preferably contain at least 
one crop that improves the soil. This '* green 
crop" may be grown specifically for a green- 
manure, as a catch crop of rye after corn; or a 
crop which is harvested, but which nevertheless 
improves the soil by its growth, as clover or cow- 
peas. The improvement may be in texture, by 
plowing under humus; or it may be in actual 
enrichment, by growing a leguminous crop, as is 
considered in the next chapter. If it is at all ex- 
pedient, a leguminous crop should be included in 
the rotation. 

3. If possible, the rotation should include crops 
that feed at different depths, and that are dissimilar 
in habits of growth. Deep-rooting crops should al- 
ternate with shallow-rooting ones. 

4. If the money crop is sown, the rotation should 
include a "cleanser," a crop that is cultivated, so 
that the land may be kept free from weeds. In 
Europe, roots, as turnips, potatoes and swedes, are 
commonly used as a cleanser; in this country corn 
and potatoes are most largely grown for this 
purpose. 

Reducing these suggestions to a simple form, a 
rotation ought to contain a money crop, a manurial 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 307 

crop and a cleansing crop, and give as wide varia- 
tion in habit of growth and food requirements as is 
practicable. This general rule is necessarily sub- 
ject to many exceptions. Sometimes the whole 
scheme may be upset by economic exigencies, as 
the relative value of the different crops, the imme- 
diate need of the farmer of money, fluctuation in 
the price of live-stock feeds, etc. 

TYPICAL SYSTEMS OF ROTATION 

The number of years that a rotation may last 
varies from two to eight or even more. *'Four 
course" rotations, lasting four years and including 
four crops, are most common. As a rule, the poorer 
the land, the shorter the rotation. Fixed rotations 
are not as common in the United States as in Great 
Britain. Many good farmers habitually change 
crops upon their land with quite satisfactory 
results, without following any definite system. 
The only sort of rotation followed by many farmers 
is to alternate a grain crop with a green crop, and a 
cultivated crop with an uncultivated crop. As 
this embodies two of the most important principles 
in crop rotation, one will not go far wrong in follow- 
ing these simple rules, even though specific crops 
are not assigned in the rotation. Any number 
of exigencies may arise that may make it desirable 
to modify or depart from a system of crop rotation ; 
but it is well to have some definite system in mind 
and follow it as closely as possible. 

A few examples of common systems of rotation 
in the United States will show how the principles 
outlined above are applied. 

1. Potatoes, winter wheat, clover. 

This rotation is frequently used when the money 



308 SOILS 

crop is potatoes. Nothing is more favourable for 
potatoes than to turn under a clover sod before 
planting. The clover is sown with the wheat or is 
seeded in the growing wheat in early spring. It is 
the manurial crop of the rotation and potatoes is 
the cleansing crop. This can be made a two-year 
rotation by plowing under the clover in early 
spring, in time to plant potatoes, not allowing it to 
mature a crop. Rye may be substituted for wheat 
and sweet potatoes or tomatoes for potatoes, without 
lessening the value of the rotation. This rotation 
may be secured with but one plowing. Plow the 
sod in either fall or spring, plant the potatoes early 
and use a harrow to prepare the seed bed for wheat 
after the potatoes are harvested. This can be 
made a four-course rotation by seeding with clover 
and mixed grasses; then it becomes an excellent 
rotation for the dairyman. 

2. Corn, oats, wheat, grass and clover. 

This is a favourite in the "Corn Belt." It is 
economical of labour, but is open to serious ob- 
jection in two respects — when wheat follows oats 
it is not possible to prepare the seed bed for wheat 
properly; and two uncultivated crops of about the 
same feeding habits are together. It is customary 
to manure the corn; if commercial fertilisers are 
used, they are applied to the wheat. 

3. Corn, wheat, oats. 

Where corn is the leading crop this is, in some 
respects, a better rotation. The chief criticism 
of it is that one must wait until the corn is ready 
to harvest before seeding to wheat, which may be 
so late that the wheat does not make enough 
growth to stand the winter. Wherever it is 
practicable to grow potatoes an even better corn 
rotation is: 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 309 

4. Corn, potatoes, wheat, clover. 

The clover sod is manured heavily before being 
planted to corn. This is an almost ideal rotation, 
since the crops of cereals alternate with a root or 
clover crop. Under certain conditions the crop of 
wheat may be dispensed with, making: 

5. Corn, potatoes, clover. 

In this and similar rotations the second crop of 
clover should not be cut, but should be plowed 
under to enrich the soil and feed the corn. 

The essential point in rotations for stock farming 
is to provide the maximum amount of roughage 
and succulence. One of the most useful rotations 
for this purpose is: 

6. Turnips, barley, mixed grasses and clover, 
Vheat. 

This is the noted "Norfolk system" used ex- 
tensively in England. If it is not desired to intro- 
duce grain so frequently, this can be made a six- 
course rotation by cutting the grass and clover 
meadow three years, thus keeping one-half the farm 
in hay. This rotation may be modified in many 
ways to meet varying conditions, as by substi- 
tuting oats for barley, rye for wheat, mangels or 
sugar beets for turnips. In this rotation the cereals 
are separated by roots, which is the cleansing crop, 
and clover, which is the manurial crop. It is one of 
the most perfect rotations in existence. 

A popular dairy-farm rotation is: 

7. Potatoes, one year; corn, two years; grass and 
clover, three years. 

The corn may be put into the silo the second 
year. The grass and clover mixture is sown when 
the corn is cultivated last. If desirable, one year 
of corn or one of meadow may be omitted. The 
main object in a dairy rotation is to secure a 



310 SOILS 

continuous supply of food. The necessity for ac- 
complishing this may make it necessary to adopt 
rotations that are not ideal, so far as maintaining 
the fertility of the farm soil is concerned. The 
abundance of manure may offset this disadvantage. 
When either the small grains or hay are the 
specialties a common rotation is : 

8. Wheat or rye; clover, or clover and mixed 
grasses, three to six years. 

In the "Cotton Belt" one of the most successful 
rotations is: 

9. Cotton, rye or clover, corn. 

Catch crops of cowpeas are used between these 
crops. In addition to main-crop rotation, catch 
crops and cover crops are used in diverse ways. 

The foregoing are but a few of many rotations 
in common use on American farms. In the Ap- 
pendix is a list of the rotations commonly practised 
or recommended in each of the states. These lists 
have been prepared by authorities on the subject 
and are a record of the best current practice in 
crop rotation. 

SINGLE-CROP FARMING 

It must not be inferred that it will never pay to 
grow a crop continuously on the same land. Often 
this is the only feasible course — as in some Western 
grain farming; and again it may be best for certain 
crops, as onions and tobacco. A summer fallow 
may be introduced instead of another crop. There 
are numerous instances of wheat and corn being 
grown continuously, with little diminution of soil 
fertility. In the noted experiments of Laws and 
Gilbert, in England, wheat has been grown con- 
tinuously on the same land for over sixty years, 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 311 

yet the yields for recent years are much above the 
average. These are scattered exceptions. The 
evidence is overwhelming that, in general, the 
single-crop system, if continued very long, means 
ruin. 

Mention should be made of "succession crop- 
ping," as practised by market gardeners especially. 
By setting out plants from hotbeds, by inter- 
planting and by very high culture, they are able to 
take three or four different crops from the same 
land in a single season. The value of the crops 
removed in one year by skilled market gardeners 
often reaches astonishing figures. One Massa- 
chusetts gardener is reported to have secured a net 
profit of $2,000 an acre, in 1906. The chief aim 
of the market gardener is to keep the land busy 
all the time. He depends little upon the natural 
fertility of the soil, but mostly upon the very 
large amounts of manures and fertilisers that 
he uses, so his rotation is chosen for its 
economic advantages, rather than for the main- 
tenance of fertility. 

SELLING FERTILITY 

The maintenance of fertility is a larger and 
broader problem than how to utilise home re- 
sources to advantage, and how to buy fertilisers 
economically. The farmer should ask himself, 
*'How much fertility am I selling from my farm 
each year .?" The soil is a great bin of plant food 
from which we draw a small supply each year. 
It is not like a bin of wheat — to be drawn on each 
year until exhausted, because it is constantly re- 
ceiving new food from the decay of plants, weather- 
ing of stones and other sources. But cropping 



312 SOILS 

does impoverish farm soils of available plant food, 
reducing their value for cropping, temporarily 
at least. This plant food is being shipped off in 
butter, eggs, hay, corn, apples, wheat, cotton, 
potatoes, and in every other crop that goes to 
market. The fertility that goes off in crops never 
returns to that land. But some crops, or part of 
them, stay on the farm. These are the crops that 
are fed to stock and the manure returned to the 
land. 

A Bank Account with the Soil. — In reality, 
when we sell crops we are selling the fertility of the 
soil, not only the nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 
acid the crops have used, but also a certain 
amount of good texture or "condition" which is 
lost by the growth of the crop. A farmer should 
know the relation between the price received for 
his crop and the amount of plant food contained 
in it. 

The amount of fertility lost to the farm by the 
sale of different crops varies greatly. The loss in 
grass and cereal crops is much greater than in 
vegetable and fruit crops. If a ton of wheat, which 
contains 38 lbs. of nitrogen, 19 lbs. of phosphoric 
acid and 13 lbs. of potash, sells for 60 cents a bushel, 
the nitrogen in it sells for 41 cents a lb., and the 
phosphoric acid and potash for 14 cents a lb. If 
a ton of milk, which contains 12 lbs, of nitrogen, 
4| lbs. of potash and 3| lbs. of phosphoric 
acid, is sold for $30, the nitrogen in it brings 
$2 per lb., and the phosphoric acid and 
potash about 70 cents per lb. If, however, 
cream or butter is sold and the skim milk 
fed to hogs, calves or chickens, most of the 
plant food is recovered in the manure of these 
animals. 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 313 

Hay is one of the most exhausting crops. If it 
is sold, practically the entire crop leaves the farm, 
carrying from it large quantities of plant food, 
which is sold at a very low price per pound. When 
a crop that contains a large amount of plant food, 
as hay, sells for a low price, it is usually best to sell 
it not as hay, but as a manufactured product — as 
milk or butter, for example. The farmer ought 
to think of the several thousand pounds each 
of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid that his 
soil probably contains, as so much capital stock. 
He draws a cheque upon his soil bank every time he 
removes a crop from it. He should see to it that 
every pound of plant food that leaves the farm as 
raw material — like grain, hay, potatoes, or as 
manufactured products — as milk, butter, beef, 
pork, eggs, wool, brings him a profitable 
income. 

On investigation the farmer may find that he is 
selling plant food at a ruinous price. Then there 
are two alternatives: to grow other crops which 
contain less fertility and sell higher per pound of 
plant food contained; or to sell the crops as 
manufactured rather than as raw material. This 
enforces the necessity of introducing stock of some 
kind to manufacture the crop into products like 
butter, eggs, or pork, which, when sold, do 
not diminish the farm fertility bank account 
to any appreciable extent. Then begins di- 
versified farming, of which stock husbandry is 
the backbone. 

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station 
has published the results of experiments on the 
loss of fertility under different systems of farming. 
The gain of nitrogen from growing clover is net 
considered in the following figures: 



314 



SOILS 



APPROXIMATE LOSS OF PLANT FOOD IN ONE YEAR FROM 

160 ACRES OF LAND UNDER DIFFERENT SYSTEMS 

OF FARMING 



System of Farming: 



All grain 

Mixed grain and general 
Mixed potato and general 

Stock 

Dairy 



Phosphoric Acid 
Pounds 



2,460 

1,003 

991 

35 

76 



Potash 
Pounds 



4,020 

1,047 

2,435 

59 

85 



Nitrogen 
Pounds 



5,600 

2,594 

2,363 

898 

809 



Commenting on these results the report says, 
*' With stock farming, when all the crops are fed to 
the stock on the farm and a small amount of milled 
products is purchased, there is practically no loss 
of potash and phosphoric acid except in handling 
the manure. When the manure is well cared for 
the loss of these plant foods is less than is stated. 
When all the skim milk is fed on the farm and a 
part of the grain exchanged for more concentrated 
mill products, there is no loss but a constant gain 
of fertility." 

These figures are, of course, only approximate 
and subject to much variation; but they show 
where the heaviest drafts fall on the soil under 
different systems of farming. 

The type of farming followed, whether stock, 
fruit, grain, hay or otherwise, is usually determined 
by economic conditions that are of far greater im- 
portance than the question of maintaining soil 
fertility. A farmer grows the crop or rears the 
stock that he thinks will be most profitable in his 
situation as regards soil, climate, market and sim- 
ilar factors. He is more concerned about growing 
crops that pay this year and next, than about hand- 
ing down to his son a farm on which the soil has not 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 315 

been seriously impaired in fertility. But the larger 
consideration of maintaining soil fertility for other 
generations surely deserves serious thought from the 
farmer of to-day. In any case it is likely that he 
will have the subject brought to his attention by 
self interest. The effects of pursuing a system of 
farming that continually takes from the land and 
returns nothing or little to it may be seen within 
a generation, or even within a decade. Each year 
thousands of American farmers are radically 
modifying their systems of husbandry for the pur- 
pose of maintaining the fertility of their farms. 
Sometimes this must be done, apparently, at the 
expense of self interest, at least for a few years. 
Some of the crops that have paid best either must 
not be grown at all or grown less frequently. But 
a series of years may tell another story. 

DIVERSIFIED FARMING 

The number and kinds of crops grown are largely 
determined by the distance to tne market. Eastern 
farmers, who are close to large markets, grow a 
greater variety of crops than Western farmers. Cot- 
ton in the South, corn in the Central States and 
small grains in the West are the most conspicuous 
examples of single-crop farming in the United 
States. There are many small single-crop areas, as 
Aroostook County, Maine, which is devoted largely 
to the culture of potatoes. Single-crop farming 
does not necessarily mean that but one crop is 
grown; it may mean that one main crop is grown 
with a few secondary crops. Small grain farming, 
even though wheat, oats, and barley are grown, 
would be considered, in its effect on soil fertility, as 
single-crop farming. 



316 SOILS 

The chief disadvantages of a too rigid adherence 
to single-crop farming are the unequal distribution 
through the year of labour and of returns, and the 
certain exhaustion of the soil sooner or later, by 
almost continuous cropping with one plant or close- 
ly related plants. Single-crop farming, if persisted 
in, means ruin. Diversified farming is one of the 
strongest props of soil fertility. Undoubtedly the 
farming in some sections of the country, especially 
the far West, must be single-crop, or practically so, 
in order to be profitable, for the farmer must grow 
what he can sell at a profit. But other crops 
should be introduced whenever possible. It is 
very hard to persuade the farmer who has been 
growing corn, or wheat, or cotton, and little else, that 
it will be for his interest to diversify his farming. 
These have been his money-making crops. Yet 
the time always comes when he is forced, by the 
lessening fertility of his soil, to introduce "green 
crops," to feed more stock, and to rest his over- 
worked land. 

KEEPING LIVE-STOCK TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 

Theoretically, the most economical way of 
maintaining the fertility of the soil is by growing 
crops to feed live-stock and returning their excre- 
tions to the soil; practically, this is the most en- 
during method. If all the conditions for caring 
for and applying manures were perfect, from 70 to 
90 per cent, of the plant food in what the animals 
eat would be returned to the soil in the manure and 
urine. Practically a much smaller per cent, than 
this is recovered, for there is always loss in storing 
and handling manure. But even granting that the 
percentage of plant food that can be recovered in 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 317 

manure is considerably less than is commonly 
stated, the keeping of live-stock remains one of the 
most economical methods of maintaining soil fertil- 
ity under certain conditions. These are largely eco- 
nomic ; as to whether the animals or their products 
will find a ready market at profitable prices. 

The stock-feeding solution of the problem of 
maintaining soil fertility is meeting with more and 
more favour in every part of the country. The 
farmers of the West, who have seen their crops 
gradually dwindle under single- crop farming, are 
awakening to the necessity for a more diversified 
husbandry, and especially stock husbandry. The 
farmers of the South are begining to realise that it 
will pay to split the time-honoured rotation of corn 
and cotton with a green crop, which may be fed to 
stock and the manure used to bind together the 
clay soils which wash so badly. One-third of the 
land now in cotton could be made to produce as 
much cotton as at present, if the other two-thirds 
were used for forage crops for stock. The South 
has the great advantage of an almost continuous 
grazing season. In every branch of crop produc- 
tion there is a renewed appreciation of the oldest 
and most reliable three-course rotations — the 
land produces crops, the crops pass through farm 
animals, the manure is returned to the land. Even 
the great practical value of green-manuring, which 
has been demonstrated so conclusively the past few 
years, has not diminished the demand for animal 
manures; and green-manuring is usually resorted 
to only when a suflScient quantity of animal manure 
cannot be had. 

This growing appreciation of animal manures 
and of stock husbandry as a means of maintaining 
fertility is not misplaced. There are few parts of 



318 SOILS 

the country where Hve-stock husbandry, in at least 
one or more of its many branches, is not prac- 
ticable. There is in progress an evolution toward 
diversified farming, which is based very largely 
upon the advantages of combining more or less 
stock husbandry with all other types of farming. 
Undoubtedly there are conditions when the keeping 
of stock is impracticable, or when the same results 
may be secured more advantageously by the use 
of green-manures, by buying animal manure from 
others, or by using commercial fertilisers. But 
these cases are few as compared with the great 
majority of American farms upon which stock 
husbandry, in some form, ought to be one of the 
chief means of maintaining fertility. Remember 
the Flemish proverb: "No grass, no cattle; no 
cattle, no manure; no manure, no crops." 

THE EXCRETORY THEORY OF SOIL FERTILITY 



There has been advocated during the last two or 
three years a new theory of soil fertility, especially 
as it relates to the rotation of crops. In the fore- 
going pages are presented the most commonly 
accepted beliefs and practices concerning soil fer- 
tility; what it is and how it may be increased and 
maintained to best advantage. Now comes a 
radically different interpretation of the nature of the 
problem from a few scientists, whose conclusions 
nave been reached after extended study and 
are therefore entitled to a very careful hearing. 

Do Plants Excrete ? — The most important point 
in the new theory of soil fertility is the positive 
statement that the roots of plants do excrete sub- 
stances that correspond in function to the excretions 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 319 

of animals. This is used to explain the value 
of a rotation of crops. We have been accustomed 
to believe that the reason why a rotation of crops 
results in increased yields is because the different 
feeding habits of the crops bring a larger area of 
soil under tribute, and equalise the demand upon 
it; because it improves the texture of the soil; be- 
cause it alleviates weediness, disease and other 
difficulties. The new explanation is that the bene- 
fit of rotating crops is not due so much to those 
factors — although their importance is not denied — 
as to the fact that a rotation puts a new kind of 
plant into a soil that has become clogged with the 
excretions of the old crop and which has therefore 
become so "unsanitary" that the old plants can- 
not grow well. The new plant is not injured by 
the excretions of its predecessor and so makes a 
vigorous growth. 

The second radical change of view that the new 
theory introduces is in regard to the action of 
manures and fertilisers. We have been believing 
that the value of supplying manures and fertilisers 
to the soil is that they actually enrich it with the 
plant food they contain and that this plant food 
that we apply is actually needed by the crop and 
is used by it. The new conception is that manures 
and fertilisers are valuable chiefly because they 
aid in renovating the soil, or in cleansing it of the 
plant excretions, or "toxic" matter, although they 
do supply plant food. In other words, fertilisers 
are chiefly beneficial not because they enrich soil but 
because they purify it. They act not upon the plants 
but upon the soil; they purify the soil from the 
excreta of the crop that has been grown and so 
affect the growth of the crop that is to be grown. 

No soil physicist would champion a theory that 



320 SOILS 

so completely controverts our generally accepted 
beliefs unless there were abundant and weighty 
evidence to prove that it is at least plausible. It 
will be impossible to give here more than a bare 
summary of the abundant evidence submitted in 
support of the new theory. Briefly stated the main 
lines of argument are: 

1. Practically all soils, including those that now 
produce poor crops or are said to be worn out and 
supposed to be exhausted of available plant food, 
are really rich in available plant food. 

2. The cause of their unproductiveness, then, is 
the condition of the soil, not its chemical content. 
The problem of soil fertility is not concerned so 
much with the amount of plant food in the soil as 
with the condition of the soil. 

3. Plants excrete from their roots poisonous 
substances which are to the plants what manure 
is to animals — the wastes. If the same kind of 
plant is grown continuously on the same land, the 
soil becomes so clogged with this plant manure that 
this kind of plant will no longer thrive in it, but 
other kinds of plants will. 

4. A water-culture of an unproductive soil — an 
exact duplication of the soil water in that soil 
upon which plants feed — will not grow plants 
well until the impurities in it have been removed 
with carbon black; after this is done plants 
grow very vigorously in it. The chemical com- 
position of the water-culture is the same as that of 
the soil water of the unproductive soil in the field. 

5. Humus is Nature's carbon black. If an 
abundance of humus is present in the soil it absorbs 
these plant excrements and the soil is kept in a 
sanitary condition. 

6. Commercial fertilisers are valuable not merely 




90. HAY THAT WILL SOON BE BALED AND SHIPPED TO THE CITY 

The plant food in the hay is then lost to the farm. But if the hay were fed to cattle, 

most of the plant food in it is recovered in the manure. In selling 

crops we sell the fertility of the land 




91. CLOVER FOLLO^VING \VHEAT— ONE OF THE COMMONEST 
ROTATIONS IN THIS COUNTRY 

A rotation of croDS is necessary to the highest success in most types of farming. I 
possible include a legume, as clover, in every rotation 



MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 321 

for the plant food they contain, but also for their 
cleansing action upon the soil. Manures benefit 
the soil chiefly because the humus in them cleanses 
the soil. 

7. The practical application is to rotate crops, and 
to use farm manures and green manures, which 
supply the humus that cleanses the soil of plant 
excretions. In the wild the soil cleanses itself by 
the constant addition of decaying plants. 

The clash between the current belief and the new 
belief is mainly this : The prevailing belief explains 
the unproductiveness of soils that the chemist finds 
to be very rich in plant food by saying that the soil 
is in poor texture and hence has not the conditions 
of warmth, aeration and moisture that are essential 
to plant growth. The new conception explains 
the same situation by saying that the worn-out soil 
has become unsanitary because of an accumulation 
of excretions from the roots of plants, not enough 
humus being present to absorb them. 

These two interpretations of the cause of infer- 
tility are radically different, but there is no dispute 
about the remedies. In either case they are good 
tillage, a rotation of crops and the addition of humus 
to the soil in the form of farm manures and green 
manures. In either case these remain the most 
valuable means of maintaining the fertility of 
farm soils. So the farmer will continue to rotate 
crops, and to use barn and green manures, unmind- 
ful of the controversy that is being waged in the 
scientific world concerning the exact way in which 
they benefit the soil. 



CHAPTER XII 

GREEN MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 

ONE of the most significant phrases that has 
recently come into our agricultural vocab- 
ulary is "Keep the soil in good texture." 
The older farmers of to-day heard nothing about 
this in their early years, although many of them 
were skilful in securing the results now expressed 
by these words. Like many another idea in 
agriculture, good texture has been talked about 
and exploited to a degree that is not, perhaps, com- 
mensurate with its real importance in the successful 
tilling of the soil. Good texture, like the liming 
of soils, is but one of many important factors 
that enter into that most complex problem of 
modern agriculture — how to maintain the fertility 
of the soil. However, it is a subject that is not 
generally understood by those who till the soil, 
and one that cannot be overlooked or disregarded 
without loss. There are thousands of acres of 
land that produce indifferent or unprofitable crops 
for no other reason than that the soil is poor m 
texture. 

WHAT IS MEANT BY " GOOD TEXTURE" 

Land is in good heart or good texture when it 
is in the right physical condition for growing crops. 
This means that it possesses the qualities expressed 
by such common farm words as mellow, loose, 
friable, porous, easy to work; and is not hard, 

322 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 323 

cloddy, lumpy, leachy. It is not concerned with 
the mere richness of the soil in plant food, but it is 
concerned with the way in which that plant food 
is served to the growing crops. It does not mean 
the amount of water that a soil contains, but it 
does mean the facility with which that water is 
presented to the crop. In other words, good tex- 
ture means that the machinery of the soil is well 
oiled and in running order; not that there is plenty 
of raw material — plant food — in it, out of which 
a profitable crop can be manufactured. In the 
language of the farm, the texture of the soil is the 
way it "works up." Everybody who has handled 
soil knows exactly what is meant by that. 

HOW NATURE SECURES GOOD TEXTURE 

There are several ways of putting in good texture 
a soil that has become cloddy, stiff, and in "bad 
heart." The most practicable way, usually, is 
Nature's way — to keep it filled with humus. 

"Humus" is another word that is fast becoming 
established in the vocabulary and in the practice 
of the successful farmer of to-day. "Humus," 
"green manure," and "good texture" express a 
trinity of agricultural ideas that are improving 
our farming more than anything else except, pos- 
sibly, plant breeding. 

Although the term humus is now in common 
use, there is much haziness about the conception 
that underlies it. The best illustration of the use 
of humus is found in Nature's farming. Here is 
a piece of virgin soil. For centuries it has nur- 
tured herbs, grasses, vines, shrubs, trees. In 
numberless cycles plants have been born upon it, 
have grown to maturity, reproduced their kind, 



324 SOILS 

died, decayed, and have returned to the soil. 
From their substance have sprung other plants. 
Each year the soil becomes richer from the return 
of its children and is able to nourish lustier off- 
spring. It may thus come to have upon it great 
trees, standing so high and so thick that we won- 
der how such a thin, rocky soil can support them. 

Then a farmerclcars the land, uproots tne stumps, 
subdues the herbage, and plants corn. For a few 
years, perhaps for many years, the crops are large; 
but after a wliile they begin to dwindle. The 
farmer then seeks to maintain his yields by ap- 
plications of fertilisers. These htUp some, but 
do not seem to restore the land to its early pro- 
ductive power. The farmer begins to wonder 
where the trouble lies. How can his pygmy crops 
of grain exhaust the soil more than the great forest 
crop of Nature's farming ? lie takes a sample of his 
soil to be analysed. The chemist tells him that 
the soil contains enough of all the necessary plant 
foods to grow seventy-five bushels of corn per acre 
for several hundred years. Yet the yield has 
fallen from sixty to forty bushels per acre, and 
applications of fertilisers, though they increase the 
yield considerably, do not secure the results of fifty 
years ago. Why is this ? 

A Farmers Logic. — The farmer, and I assure 
the reader that he is not hypothetical, then began 
to notice more carefully the growth of crops on 
different parts of his farm. One season he noticed 
a bigger growth of corn in a certain spot. He 
remembered that the thresher was set up on this 
spot two years before and a considerable amount 
of fine straw and chaff had remained on the ground 
and had been plowed under. He recalled that 
last spring the plow had pulled easier and the soil 




LOSS OF FERTILITY BY EROSION 



The finest and richest soil from this field of winter wheat is being washed into the 

creek. Such land ought to be in sod or, at least, the drills 

should run crosswise of the slope 




93. A GEOR<.I A 1 II LD THAT ONCE PRODUCED A BALE OF COTTON 
PER ACRE, NOW RUINED BEYOND REDEMPTION 
BY GULLYING 

Shallow plowing, the lack of humus, and carelessness about "break.s" 
brought this about 




94. RICHNESS RUNNING OFF IN THE BOTTOM OF THK DEEP Fl'RR( )\\ 

MADE BY RIDOINC. THIS COTTON 

Somi- (l;iy this hmil will \h- lallcil "worn oiil" 




Note that this one collccteil much soi! until a new Rully formed over it. Hay, cotton 

stems, brush, weeds, etc., are also usc<l. .Sliinv Southern hill farms 

need attention in this matter all the year 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 325 

had worked up mellower on this spot. This gave 
him an idea. The chemist had also told him that 
he could buy of a fertiliser dealer all the plant food 
that there is in a ton of good cow manure for two 
dollars, yet this farmer knew from experience that 
he could get better results on his land from one ton 
of manure than from five dollars' worth of any 
commercial fertiliser he had ever bought. Per- 
haps the manure had other values besides its plant 
food value. 

He went to the cow pasture and kicked over a 
heap of dry cow dung that had lain there many 
months. Evidently the rains must have washed 
out practically all its plant food. The substance 
that remains is mostly indigestible vegetable mat- 
ter that the cow has eaten; it is fibrous, holds 
water like a sponge, and is easily incorporated with 
the soil. He knows that it is good for plants, 
though it contains little or no plant food. 

Following this clue, the farmer went to his wood- 
land. Beneath the living plants about him are 
the dead and decaying trees, underbrush, herbage, 
leaves. He can barely trace upon the ground the 
outline of a one-time forest monarch that is slowly 
passing into mould, and already nourishes a thrifty 
colony of mosses and ferns. Beneath the carpet- 
ing leaves is the rich, black, forest mould. It is 
made of the leaves, branches and trunks of a genera- 
tion ago. It holds water like a sponge. Upon it 
Nature is growing a crop that must be many 
times more exhaustive of plant food than any crop 
of maize. 

The farmer came to this conclusion: "It is 
this decaying vegetation that my soil needs. My 
farm has been cropped with corn, oats and pota- 
toes for fifty years. No vegetation has been 



326 SOILS 

returned to it except the stubble and roots of the 
grain, the roots of the potatoes and a few 
weeds. For fifty years my father and I have been 
exhausting the soil of its vegetable matter. No 
wonder the soil gets cloddier and harder to work 
every year; it needs more of this material to sepa- 
rate the particles and make it looser and more 
fibrous. I know why it suft'ers more from drought 
than it used to — it has not enough of the spongy 
material in it to hold the moisture. I am going 
to try growing some crop to plow under and decay 
in the soil. I believe it is the lack of this material 
more than the lack of plant food that reduces my 
yields." 

The farmer who made these remarks to me, 
about eight years ago, has since then more than veri- 
fied the accuracy of his conclusion. Each year 
he now devotes a portion of his farm to clover, 
vetch, field peas, rye, rape, or some other crop that 
fits into the rotation, and plows under the herbage. 
His soil is growing richer and his fertiliser bill has 
been cut in two. Soil that formerly was lumpy, 
"run together," and baked is becoming mellow 
and in good heart; its texture has been improved 
by the addition of humus. 

This farmer is only one of thousands who now 
make use of "green manure," as such a crop 
is called, for the improvement of their lands. I 
once heard a speaker at a Farmers' Institute 
say: '*The key to maintaining the fertility of 
the soil is to have plants decaying in it all 
the time, as is the case in uncleared land." 
This statement of the problem is forceful and 
practical. He did not mean, of course, that 
humus alone can maintain fertility. No amount 
of green-manuring can enrich a soil in the 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 327 

mineral plant foods — potash and phosphoric 
acid — and there are many soils that are ex- 
hausted of these. Fertilisers and manures must 
be used to make good this loss. But he did 
mean that a majority of the soils that now pro- 
duce unsatisfactory crops, and are said to be 
*'worn out," need the humus that comes from 
decaying plants more than mere additions of plant 
food. This practice is becoming a noteworthy 
feature of American farming. 

HOW HUMUS BENEFITS THE SOIL 

Humus benefits the soil in several ways. Its 
greatest benefit is in improving texture. Mix a 
little leaf mould, gathered from the woods, with 
a pailful of light, sandy soil ; it gives the soil more 
"body," and makes it less leachy. Add leaf 
mould to a pailful of stiff clay soil that clods, 
bakes and cracks in the field; the clay be- 
comes more porous and works up better. Wet it 
and it does not puddle. These same results farm- 
ers secure, on a commercial scale, in their fields. 

The relation of good texture to the fertility of 
cloddy land lies in the uselessness of the clods. 
The root hairs of plants feed on the outside of the 
smallest particles of soil. If, therefore, a large 
proportion of the soil is lumpy and in bad heart 
the feeding area or "pasturage" is reduced that 
much. This is why we hear about plant food 
being "locked up" in lumps — it is where the 
plants cannot get to it. This is why it is said, 
and truly, "Fining the soil may be equivalent to 
fertilising it." One way of fining the soil, and 
hence of increasing its productive power, is to im- 
prove the texture by adding humus. 



328 SOILS 

Storing the Rain. — Another benefit that humus 
confers upon a soil is that of increasing its 
power to hold moisture. A sand may contain 
enough plant food for a crop, but the crop 
will not grow because the sand cannot sup- 
ply the plant with water — it is too leachy. 
Plants not only need water to drink, but 
water is also needed to carry food that is 
dissolved in it to the plants. Soils deficient 
in humus dry out quickly in a time of drought. 
There may be an abundance of plant food 
in the soil, but it is useless for the time being 
if there is not enough moisture to dissolve it and 
carry it to the plant. Where do you find fish- 
worms in a *'dry spell?" I dig in the moist soil 
beneath the chips of the old woodpile. Chips 
have decayed there in the soil for years. It is full 
of humus, and moisture, and worms. Is not the 
soil blacker, richer, and more moist where the cur- 
rant bushes have been mulched every year with 
manure or straw ? So in the larger operations of 
the farm, the addition of humus to a soil from 
which it has been "burnt out" by years of clean 
tillage has a marked effect in increasing the 
power of that soil to hold moisture. 

Humus Enriches the Soil. — When a plant decays 
in the soil it returns to the soil practically all that 
was taken from it. But there are additional bene- 
fits. In the decay of the plant certain acids are 
formed that help to dissolve some of the unavail- 
able, or unpalatable, plant food in the soil. All 
humus is a store of nitrogen; green-manuring is 
the cheapest means of maintaining the supply of 
this plant food. If the plants grown for green- 
manuring are "legumes ' they are especially 
valuable for adding nitrogen. 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 329 

TWO KINDS OF GREEN MANURE 

Almost any herbaceous plant has some value 
when plowed under as a green manure. The 
weeds that get a foothold in the garden and corn- 
field in late summer serve one useful purpose in 
this way. But the trouble with weeds for green 
manure is that we cannot depend upon them. 
They come in where they have a mind to, not as we 
desire. Usually they are rank in the hollows, 
where the soil is rich and needs no humus, but shun 
the knolls, where the soil is hard and needs humus 
badly. Sometimes weeds may be turned to good 
account for green-manuring, but usually a special 
crop must be grown. 

There is a distinction between crops for this pur- 
pose. They may be " leguminous" plants or " non- 
leguminous." A leguminous plant is one that, 
among other characteristics, bears its seeds in a 
certain kind of a pod, called by botanists a 
legume . " Peas , beans , clovers , vetches , alfalfa , soy 
beans, cowpeas, are examples of leguminous plants 
commonly used for green-manuring. If it is 
known that the soil is more or less lacking in the 
plant food, nitrogen, a leguminous crop should be 
grown for plowing under in preference to a non- 
leguminous crop, like rape, buckwheat or rye. 
Through the little warts or nodules on their roots 
leguminous plants may feed upon the nitrogen that 
is in the soil air, instead of drawing upon the supply 
that is in the soil. When these plants are plowed 
under, therefore, the soil is enriched with the 
nitrogen that they have gathered. The plants 
themselves are richer in nitrogen, and have a higher 
feeding value, when the nodules are on their roots. 

This wonderful process of "nitrogen-fixing" has 



330 SOILS 

far-reaching practical application. The bacteria 
in these nodules, which can be seen in various 
sizes on the roots of most legumes, are so small 
that it would take 10,000 of them placed side by 
side to measure an inch. Yet these tiny germs 
save the farmers of this country millions of dollars 
that would otherwise have to be spent for fertilisers 
containing nitrogen. 

If the soil does not need nitrogen, but does need 
humus, a non-leguminous crop like rye or rape may 
be grown. The leguminous plants, however, are 
the great soil '* renovators." The clovers in the 
North and the cowpea in the South have built up 
thousands of acres of soil and vastly increased their 
producing power. Most of these plants, especially 
clovers and alfalfa, benefit the soil in still an- 
other way; they deepen it through their deep- 
rooting habit. Clover roots bore down into the 
soil several feet, bringing up and using plant food 
that is beyond the reach of the roots of most field 
crops. This is handed over to the surface soil 
when the plants are plowed under. But some 
soils will not grow clover. The kind of crop that 
should be grown for green-manuring, and how to 
grow it, depend upon the special conditions of each 
farm. 

WHEN A GREEN-MANURING CROP MAY BE GROWN 

If the soil is badly "run down," and the land 
can be used for a green-manuring crop without 
sacrificing too much, the crop may occupy the 
ground the entire season or even for several sea- 
sons, as when red clover is sown in the spring, cut 
the following year and the second crop of that sea- 
son plowed under. As a rule, however, it is more 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 331 

practicable to grow green manures between other 
crops, or as a part of a definite system of rotation. 
The rotations listed in the Appendix point out 
many ways in which a green-manuring crop may 
be grown without losing time. The effort should 
be to have a "green crop" in the rotation every 
few years, or at least a sod to plow under occasion- 
ally; for there is humus and richness in a sod as 
well as in a crop grown especially for plowing 
under. 

Catch Crops and Cover Crops. — There are two 
ways of introducing a green -manuring crop for 
part of a season. One is the use of a "catch crop," 
which is grown during the season between the 
time when one money-making crop is harvested 
and another planted. Catch crops are used most 
by market gardeners. 

Another way is to use a "cover crop," which is 
sown late in the season after the main crop is out 
of the way, so that it makes some growth in the 
autumn, and perhaps in early spring also. A cover 
crop not only adds humus to the soil but it also 
protects the soil from heaving in spring. It catches 
and holds the soluble plant food that would other- 
wise be lost in seepage; this is returned to the soil 
when the crop is plowed under in spring. It also 
catches the snows and drys out the soil earlier in 
spring. One of the commonest cover crops is rye 
sown in corn or cotton at the last cultivation. 

Cover crops are now extensively used in fruit 
growing. In addition to their other benefits, cover 
crops in the orchard make the trees mature their 
wood and fruit buds earlier in the fall and so lessen 
danger of winter injury. There are hundreds of 
ways in which a green-manuring crop may be intro- 
duced, depending largely upon the system of 



332 SOILS 

farming and the value of the land. It does not pay 
to allow land to lie bare and idle, unless necessary 
to store water in arid farming. Keep it busy. Fill 
in the chinks between the money crops with catch 
crops or cover crops that will maintain fertility; 
and, if engaged in staple-crop farming, endeavour 
to include a green-manuring crop in the general 
rotation. 

FERTILISING VALUE OF ROOTS AND STUBBLE 

It is not always necessary to plow under the 
entire crop in order to gain substantial benefit from 
green-manuring ; in fact, it is seldom practicable to 
do so. The roots and stubble of a mature crop of 
cowpeas or clover contain about one-third of the 
soil-improving value of the crop. It is usually 
more practicable, particularly with leguminous crops, 
to harvest the hay, especially if it is fed on the farm 
and the manure used to enrich the farm. Thirty- 
five per cent, of the soil-improving value of red 
clover is in the roots and stubble left after the crop 
is cut. If the crop is fed or pastured, and the 
manure returned to the land, the soil gets from 80 
to 90 per cent, of the full manurial value of the crop, 
while the farmer also gets its full value for feeding 
— a case of eating your cake and having it too. 
Stock husbandry is the key to many pleasant sur- 
prises like this. 

GREEN MANURES NOT COMPLETE FERTILISERS 

Green-manuring alone cannot be expected to 
maintain the fertility of the soil on most farms, 
although it will contribute very largely to that end. 
When crops are grown and turned under there is no 




A HILLSIDE THAT GULLIED BADLY UNTIL COVERED WITH 
BERMUDA GRASS AND LESPEDEZA 

These hold the soil perfectly. There are many cultivated slopes that 
ought to be seeded 










98. THE DENSE TURF OF BERMUDA GRASS 

This is the great soil-binder of the South. It takes complete possession of a pasture in 
two or three years, and is valuable for feeding. It spreads like " quack grass" 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 333 

actual gain of plant food, except nitrogen if legu- 
minous crops are grown. No green manures 
return to the soil any more potash and phosphoric 
acid than they took from the soil. No matter how 
long and how skilfully green-manuring is con- 
ducted, it will not enrich the soil with one pound 
of the mineral plant foods, although it may make 
the mineral foods already in the soil more available, 
which may amount to the same thing, so far as 
crop production is concerned. A sharp distinction 
should be made here : green-manuring may actually 
enrich the soil in nitrogen, but it cannot enrich the 
soil in potash and phosphoric acid ; it may, however, 
so improve the texture of the soil that plants can use 
more of the potash and phosphoric acid already there . 
When we remember that most farm soils, even 
the poorest, contain tons of plant food, we can 
believe that in practical effect, though not in 
reality, green-manuring may enrich the soil in all 
the plant foods. The mere amount of plant food 
in the soil is nothing to us: it is the ability of the 
soil to transform this material into plants that inter- 
ests us. Green-manuring helps the soil to do this 
as no other farm practice does, except the use of 
barn manures. We ccnnot expect green-manuring 
to relieve us of the necessity for buying and using 
the mineral plant foods ; but we do expect that, in 
certain systems of farming, it will make unnecessary 
the purchase of nitrogen, and that it will greatly 
reduce the amount of the mineral plant foods that 
need be applied. 

INOCULATING THE SOIL 

Under some conditions a leguminous crop that is 
plowed under may make the soil richer by a 



334 SOILS 

hundred or more pounds of nitrogen; under other 
conditions it may add little if any nitrogen to the 
soil except that which it has drawn from the soil. 
In order that a legume may gather nitrogen from 
the air there must be '* nitrogen-fixing bacteria" 
in nodules on its roots. If the legume is grown in 
a soil that has never been used for that crop, or not 
for several years, there may be none of these bac- 
teria in the soil. If there are none the crop will 
not thrive, or very few nodules will be found on 
the roots, and when there are no nodules nitrogen is 
not gained. If a leguminous plant is dug up and 
no nodules can be found on the roots, one may be 
reasonably sure that the plant is not gathering from 
the air the plant food that costs fifteen cents 
a pound in commercial fertilisers, but that it is 
living on the nitrates in the soil. 

Inoculating With Old Soil. — If no bacteria are 
present, they must be supplied. A few of them 
often cling to the seeds of the crop, sometimes 
enough to inoculate the soil quite thoroughly 
after one or two crops of the legume have been 
grown in it. Usually, however, it is best to in- 
oculate with soil taken from a field on which that 
particular crop has been grown successfully. This 
soil contains millions of the germs; when it is 
broadcasted or drilled in, the bacteria are spread 
and will find the roots of the leguminous crop 
when it is planted. From 400 to 800 lbs. of soil 
is sufficient. It is best to take the soil several 
inches below the surface and in a part of the field 
on which the plants had many nodules the year 
previous. The practice of sprinkling old soil over 
a new field has given luxuriant crops of legumes 
after failures to get a satisfactory stand. 

Inoculating With Artificial Cultures. — Another 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 335 

way to introduce the needful bacteria is to buy 
one of the several artificial cultures. Of these, 
'*nitro-culture" is probably most widely known. 
These preparations contain a large quantity of the 
bacteria somewhat as a yeast-cake contains the 
bacteria that make bread rise. The "soil yeast- 
cake" is dissolved in warm water and this water 
sprinkled on a quantity of soil, which is then dis- 
tributed on the new land. Very uncertain results 
have attended the use of nitro-culture and similar 
preparations; in some cases the soil has been in- 
oculated with bacteria very successfully; in other 
cases no beneficial results have followed. It is 
evident that the method of preparing these cul- 
tures has not yet been perfected. Undoubtedly the 
use of artificial cultures of this and other beneficial 
bacteria will some time become common and suc- 
cessful, but at present the safest way is to get old 
soil if it can be had. 

Some of those who are exploiting these preparations 
have not made it clear, as they should, that in- 
oculating the soil with this material assists none 
but leguminous crops to secure nitrogen; and, 
furthermore, that it may help to enrich the soil in 
no plant food except nitrogen. The "yeast-cake" 
idea appeals strongly to the popular imagination 
and the most absurd claims are sometimes made for 
the artificial cultures. Soil inoculation is but 
one of many means of maintaining fertility, and 
usually it is a very incidental means. 

Each Crop has Different Bacteria. — Not one kind 
of bacteria performs this service, but many — a differ- 
ent kind on each leguminous crop. According to 
present knowledge, the bacteria that aid clover to 
feed on nitrogen from the air, do not aid alfalfa, 
cowpeas or any other crop. This means that one 



336 SOILS 

must get old soil, or an artificial culture, for each 
kind of leguminous crop grown. It is probable 
that the several kinds of bacteria will be found to 
be more or less interchangeable, but the safest way 
is to get the kind that go with the crop to be grown. 

It is often found that the first year a leguminous 
crop is grown the stand is poor and the growth 
unsatisfactory; or that there are few nodules on 
the roots, showing that little nitrogen is being 
secured. But the second year the crop will be 
better and the roots have more nodules, because 
the bacteria have increased. In growing legumi- 
nous crops, therefore, it is often best to re-seed on 
the same land until the soil becomes well filled with 
bacteria. Often if a poor stand of clover or alfalfa 
is plowed and the land at once re-seeded a much 
better stand is secured. 

Poor Soils Benefited Most. — If the soil is already 
quite well supplied with available nitrogen legu- 
minous plants growing in it get very littlenitrogen 
from the air; they will draw upon the nitrogen in 
the soil. Leguminous plants live on nitrogen of the 
air only when they have to ; when there is very little 
nitrogen in the soil. Cowpea plants on poor soil 
usually have many more nodules on their roots 
than cowpea plants on a rich soil; showing that 
the former are living mainly on the nitrogen of the 
air, while the latter are living mainly on the nitro- 
gen in the soil. Even on a soil already rich in 
nitrogen, leguminous^crops do return more nitrogen 
to the soil than they draw from it; but the poorer 
the soil the more nitroo^en there is added to it. The 
same crop of cowpeas may add 100 lbs. of nitrogen 
to the soil or 25, according to the extent to which 
the plants have been obliged to get nitrogen from 
the air. This calls attention again to the peculiar 



'' ,. =.'C 


< ':tU 






^^^'vd^^L 


w-^m 


Wmmlm 




Hpi» 


B^' 


^S 


:'^ jW '" 


' 


m^Mim 


iML 


i.#;; ^ 


# 


Wg 


^^ 


/I 


^"^t^ 


ML.' 




^^^BflK^ik 


^ 


^KT^ 


^^K'^na 


_. '• 










^1^ 


i-j 




m 






^ 


_j„ 



99. SOIL IN POOR TEXTURE 
It needs more humus to make it mellow 




100. ON LEFT, A CLOD OF CLAY SOIL; ON RIGHT, DECAYING 
STEMS AND LEAVES, WHICH BECOME HUMUS 

Mix the humus with the clay and note improvement. The same thing can be done 
in the field, on a larger scale, by plowing under a green manure 




101. NODULES, OR TUBERCLES, ON THE ROOTS OF SOY BEAN 



In these live the bacteria that may take nitrrtgen from the soil air, and turn it over to 
thepknt. Only "leguminous" plants-as clover, pea, cowpea-can do this 




103. COWPEAS ON "WORN-OUT" COTTON FIELD 

Note the tiny gullies; the fine soil has been mostly washed av.ay. The cowpeas. when 
Mote tmy g^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^^ ^.^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^1 ^^j g^rich it 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 337 

value of leguminous crops for improving poor 
soils. These bacteria do not multiply on sour or 
wet soils, which is one reason why light soils are 
usually more benefited by green-manuring than 
heavy soils. 

PLOWING UNDER A GREEN MANURE 

It is a common mistake to allow a cover crop to 
grow late into the spring, and until it gets woody, 
before plowing it under. Too much rank herb- 
age may dry out the soil that season. The 
earlier it is plowed under the more moist the soil 
is, as a rule, and the quicker the plants decay. If 
possible, it is best to plow under a green manure at 
least two weeks before planting the succeeding 
crop, so that it may partially decay. If the crop is 
not hardy, as oats or buckwheat, it is usually best 
to allow the herbage to lie on the surface during 
the winter, and plow it under in spring rather than 
to plow in the fall. Little if any of the manurial 
value of the crop is lost by leaving it on the ground 
during the winter, and it protects the surface from 
washing. Such crops as the cowpea and soy bean 
are exceptions to this because their leaves fall off 
and are blown away. When plowing under a large 
amount of herbage, a drag chain is serviceable. In 
general, it is much better to plow under small crops 
of herbage two or three times than to plow under 
a large quantity at one time. 

Like every other farm practice, green-manuring 
has limitations. Some crops do poorly if planted 
on land where a green crop has just been plowed 
under. Alfalfa, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and 
buckwheat are among these. This is partly be- 
cause the decay of a large amount of herbage in the 



338 SOILS 

soil results in fermentation, and the soil becomes 
more or less acid; and partly because the herbage 
loosens and dries out tlie soil before it has become 
thoroughly decayed. Potatoes and corn do not 
seem to mind this. In any case it is best, if prac- 
ticable, not to plant a crop for at least two or three 
weeks after a large amount of herbage has been 
plowed under, but to keep the land fallow. Lim- 
ing the soil at the time of green-manuring is often 
beneficial. If only stubble is plowed under, or a 
scanty crop of herbage, these precautions are not 
necessary. 

LEGUMINOUS CROPS FOR GREEN-MANURING 

Red Clover is the king of green-manuring crops, 
especially in the Northern States. This is partly 
on account of its very deep root system, which 
bores through, loosens and drains the subsoil and 
brings deep-lying plant food to the surface. It 
does not catch well on soils in bad heart; such soils 
must first be improved by plowing under rye and 
other coarser crops. The seeding is ten to twenty 
pounds per acre. In the North, seeding is in early 
spring or in August; in the South, September or 
October sowing is preferred. Usually the crop is 
cut or pjistured one or two years, and the after- 
math is plowed under. Unquestionably red clover 
is the most valuable plant in Northern farming, 
where the maintenance of soil fertility as well as the 
largest immediate profits, is considered. If it can 
be worked into a rotation to advantage this should 
be done. Be sure the land is not deficient in lime. 

The preeminent value of red clover for improving 
soils is strikingly illustrated in some experiments 
by Henry W. Geller. Many pots of ordinary soil 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 339 

had added to them these materials: (1) Fresh 
manure, at the rate of 20 tons per acre ; (2) Clover 
stems from an old field, dried and ground to meal; 
(3) Ground wheat straw; (4) Ground peat. The 
effect of these different forms of humus on the crop 
grown in the soil to wliich they were added, was 
very marked. Mr. (jieller concluded, "Of all the 
different kinds of organic matter applied, clover 
liberated the most plant food"; and again, "The 
greatest yield was obtained from the soil to which 
clover was applied, it being three times as large as 
the yield of untreated soil; while the crop from the 
manured soil was twice that of the untreated soil." 

The Cowpea is to the South what clover is to the 
North. It grows anywhere south of the Ohio 
river, and in some places farther north, especially 
along the Atlantic Coast. It is planted only in 
spring or summer, as frost kills it. Cowpeas may 
be sown after wheat, oats, or rye and the crop cut 
for hay in time for fall crops to be sown. The 
roots feed almost as deeply as those of clover and 
the plants thrive on a very poor soil, provided it is 
not too wet. It is seeded at the rate of one and a 
half to three and a half bushels per acre, either 
broadcast or drilled in, and is cultivated two or 
three times. The vines soon cover the ground. 
They are commonly cut for hay; rarely is it best 
to plow under the entire crop. 

The cowpea is most valuable as a catch crop; 
it fits in nicely after the harvesting of one staple crop 
and before the planting of another. One of the 
best ways of building up worn-out cotton land in 
the South is to sow rye in the fall, plow it under 
in spring, harrow and let the land lie fallow for a 
month, then sow cowpeas. Cut this crop for hay 
and sow rye again. Three or four years of this 



340 SOILS 

treatment will make a marked improvement in the 
soil. Both of these crops thrive on very poor 
land. The cowpea has worked miracles on thou- 
sands of acres of Southern land; it is a great 
blessing to Southern agriculture. 

Crimson clover deserves third place in the list of 
soil-improvers. It is grown chiefly along the 
Atlantic sea-board from Massachusetts to Georgia, 
and is used almost entirely as a cover crop. It is 
sown from the last of July to the first of October 
at the rate of fifteen to twenty pounds of seed 
per acre, either between rows of standing crops, as ♦ 
corn or cotton, or after the crop has been harvested. 
The peculiar value of crimson clover lies in its 
ability to grow late into the winter, and to begin 
growth again early the next spring, thus accumulat- 
ing much herbage before the spring plowing. It 
gathers nitrogen most industriously during this 
period. It makes good winter pasture. In the 
South, crimson clover complements the cowpea, 
since it grows at a season when the cowpea does 
not. In the North it is equally at home and is 
valued highly. 

Alfalfa is the greatest soil-improver of arid 
farming in the West. At the Wyoming Experi- 
ment Station land on which alfalfa had been grown 
produced $10 worth more of potatoes and oats per 
acre than similar land that had not been in alfalfa, 
and this increase was secured at no cost. In late 
years the culture of alfalfa has extended over many 
parts of the East. Wherever it can be grown to 
advantage, as a part of the farm rotation, alfalfa is 
one of the very best means of maintaining fertility, 
although it is grown primarily as a forage or hay 
crop. It prefers an open subsoil, being the most 
deep-rooting of any farm crop; this makes it of 




103. A FIELD OF COWPEAS GROWN TO IMPROVE THE SOIL 

The covvpea is to the South what clover is to the North — the great soil renovator 




104. A SINGLE COWPEA VINE, TWELVE FEET LCJNG, ON A 
NORTH GEORGIA FARM 

The tops will be cut for hay, but the roots and stubble, when plowed under, greatly improve 
the soil, as they contain a third of the soil-improving value of the plant 




\l lAKl- HKANS (IROVVN FOR A GREEN MAN'URE IN FLORIDA 

'I'lic vines arc oflcn jo to 40 feet long. This leRiime largely replaces the 
cowpea in Florida 




lOli. THE RIGHT PLACE FOR A COVER CROP-TO PROTECT THE 
BARE GROUND OF CORN FIELD OVER WINTER 

Nature's cover crop of weeds is not evenly distrihufed. Rye sown at the last 
cultivation in summer is a popular cover crop for corn 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 341 

unusual value in improving the soil. Seeding is at the 
rate of twenty to thirty pounds per acre, and after 
spring frosts in the North ; fall seeding is preferred 
in the South. The sod is cut for three to eight 
years; hence alfalfa can be used only in a long 
rotation. 

Other Leguminous Green Manures. — The four 
plants mentioned above are the great soil-improvers 
of America. Other crops are often or occasionally 
grown. Canadian field peas are frequently grown 
in the North, especially on rough soils, and either 
alone or sown with grains to support the vines. 
The seeding is one and a half to two bushels per 
acre. Market gardeners often grow garden peas, 
pick the pods and then plow under the vines, thus 
getting double value from the crop. Vetches of 
various kinds, particularly the smooth vetch and 
the hairy vetch, are often used, especially in the 
Pacific Northwest. Vetches are used extensively 
for orchard cover crops in the East. The seeding 
is about one bushel per acre. Hairy vetch may 
become a bad weed unless looked after sharply. 
The soy bean, also called "soja bean" and "Jap- 
anese pea," is very serviceable in many sections. It 
is hardier than the cowpea and can be grown 
farther north. When grown for soil improvment 
the whole crop should be plowed under, as the 
roots and stubble do not contain such a large pro- 
portion of the plant foods as clover and cowpea 
stubble. White sweet clover and lupines are 
sometimes grown for green-manuring. 

NON-LEGUMININOUS CROPS FOR GREEN-MANURING 

Rye is the most useful of plants that improve the 
soil when plowed under, but do not enrich it in 



342 SOILS 

nitrogen, not being legumes. It is commonly used 
as a cover crop, sown in corn, after potatoes, etc., 
from August first to November first, the seeding 
being one and a half to three bushels. It is 
especially valuable for building up light soils or 
soils in such bad texture that legumes do not thrive. 
Rye grows late and begins growth very early in 
spring, thus using and returning to the soil much 
nitrogen that would be leached away from bare 
soils at this time. It makes good winter and 
spring pasture. Wheat is sometimes used for the 
same purpose. 

Oats and buckwheat are used when a crop is 
needed which will be killed by winter. Buck- 
wheat is especially valuable for very light and 
poor soils. 

Rape is a valuable forage and green-manuring 
crop, especially as a cover crop. Like rye, it grows 
until the ground freezes, and begins growth again 
very early the following spring. Winter rape, 
however, is not hardy in the Northern States ; spring 
rape, especially Dwarf Essex, is valued there. 

White mustard is frequently used to improve 
light sandy soils and is especially useful as a catch 
crop. It grows very rankly in late fall and is not 
killed until the ground freezes. The seeding is 
about one-third bushel per acre. It does not 
become a weed. 

THE RENOVATION OF VTORN-OUT SOILS 

How to restore productiveness to soils that have 
lost their power to produce profitable crops, and 
are said to be "worn-out," is one of the great farm 
problems of to-day. There are hundreds of 
thousands of acres of worn-out soils in the Atlantic 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 343 

States. The older soils of the East, which have 
been cultivated, more or less, for two or three cen- 
turies, were the first to decline. Gradually the 
area of worn-out soils is extending westward. Even 
some of the Mississippi Valley soils that fifty years 
ago were thought to be of inexhaustible fertility, 
are now said to be about worn-out. 

The history of the East is being repeated in the 
West. The virgin soils there are now said to have 
an inexhaustible wealth of fertility; yet sooner or 
later the crops on even these wonderful soils will 
decline. Then those agricultural freebooters whose 
whole idea of tilling the soil seems to be that of 
merely skimming off the cream of Nature's in- 
crease, will pass on to virgin soils, leaving 
behind land that it will take years of careful 
farming to bring back to its normal productive- 
ness. 

The agricultural history of our country, so far as 
soil management is concerned, is far from being 
a credit to the genius of our people. It has been 
marked by the most ruthless soil robbery on the 
largest scale that the world has ever known. 
Virgin lands have been cleared, their fatness wrung 
from them with little or no returns, until the crops 
have dwindled to but a fraction of the bountiful 
harvests of pioneer days. Then the son, who has 
fallen heir to the inevitable result of the spend- 
thrift farming of his father, moves West. The 
most disheartening feature of all is that nine times 
out of ten he follows there the same course which 
has brought poverty to so many farm homes in the 
East. Western farming is as improvident now as 
Eastern farming has been, and still is to a con- 
siderable extent. We cannot escape from the 
criticism of J. J. Hill: "American farmers have 



344 SOILS 

barely skimmed the soil; there is little intensive 
farming in this country." 

The problem of worn-out soils is vital now and is 
becoming more insistent as our agriculture ages. 
Fortunately the East has at last awakened to the 
exigencies of the situation, and is reclaiming her 
worn-out soils with satisfactory results. It is to 
be hoped that before the rich farm soils in the 
Mississippi Valley and westward have been brought 
to the low productiveness that many Eastern soils 
have now reached — and they are surely trending 
that way — Western farmers will adopt the methods 
of husbandry that are necessary to maintain 
fertility. 

How to Begin the Work of Soil Improvement. — 
The methods that are of service in renovating worn- 
out soils include all the points in soil management 
that have been noted in the preceding chapters. 
Undoubtedly there are a few worn-out soils that are 
exhausted chemically: they are actually deficient 
in plant food. But most of them are worn-out 
physically. They are unproductive, because 
they have been mismanaged. This mismanage- 
ment may have consisted partly in bad handling, 
such as plowing too shallow, or when the soil was 
wet, or in not checking erosion. It is more likely, 
however, to be due to mismanagement as regards 
rotation of crops; and probably it is due most of 
all to mismanagement as regards maintaining the 
supply of humus in the soil. Most worn-out soils 
are in special need of humus. Green-manuring is 
of greater importance in the renovation of worn- 
out soils than any other factor. 

In most cases the quickest and easiest way, to 
begin with, is to grow leguminous crops for green- 
manures. But green-manuring will be made more 



MANURING AND WORN-OUT SOILS 345 

effective, and certainly more remunerative, if it 
can be associated with some form of stock hus- 
bandry, so that the crops may be fed or pastured on 
the place and the manure returned to the soil. 
Stock-feeding, not clover, cowpeas nor any other 
plant, is the key to the most economical main- 
tenance of soil fertility in general farming. There 
are few sections of the country where it is not 
practicable to raise some kind of stock. 

When animal manures are not available, how- 
ever, green-manuring alone will improve worn-out 
soils, but less economically. Commercial fer- 
tilisers have little value for restoring a worn-out 
soil if, as is usually the case, the texture of the soil, 
not its chemical contents, is at fault. They are 
of far greater usefulness after the soil has been put 
into good heart by green-manuring or the addition 
of animal manures. 

The final step in the improvement of a worn- 
out soil is to put it into a rotation of crops which 
is not exhaustive and which makes provision for 
a continuance of the various farm practices that 
maintain fertility. Thousands of acres of land 
in the East, thought to be worn-out, have been 
restored to bountiful productiveness by these 
methods. 



CHAPTER XIII 

FARM MANURES 

FROM the beginning of agriculture, appli- 
cations of manures have been the chief 
means of maintaining the fertility of farm 
soils. Manuring has been assisted, to some extent, 
by green-manuring and crop rotation. In modern 
agriculture increasing prominence is being given 
to these latter practises. But it is not likely that 
manuring will ever be displaced as the most widely 
practiced and most economical method of main- 
taining the fertility of the land. 

The vital relation between stock husbandry and 
crop husbandry has been emphasised in the pre- 
cedmg chapter. The practical advantages of 
associating these two coordinate branches of 
agriculture are more generally admitted to-day 
than at any previous time. Farmers are beginning 
to abandon the wasteful methods of pioneer days, 
to curtail the present extravagant use of artificial 
fertilisers, and to rely more and more upon Nature's 
provisions for maintaining fertility and the excre- 
ments of animals — the return of plants to the soil. 
The first provision is discussed in the preceding 
chapter; the second in this chapter. 

HOW MANURE BENEFITS THE SOIL 

The real value of manures and their effect upon 
the soil were not known until quite recently; and 
it is altogether probable that even now we have 
but just begun to understand the manifold ways in 

346 



FARM MANURES 347 

which manure improves the soil. There was a 
time when the value of manure was thought to be 
only or chiefly the value of the plant food it con- 
tained. It was even said that since a ton of stable 
manure contains but $2 to $4 worth of nitrogen, pot- 
ash and phosphoric acid, that the same amount of 
plant food could be obtained and applied more 
cheaply in the form of a commercial fertiliser. This 
is true; but the conclusion must not be drawn that 
manure might well be supplanted by commercial 
fertilisers. From the chemist's point of view a ton 
of manure may be worth but $2, because that is the 
value of all the plant food in it. From the farmer's 
point of view manure may be worth several times 
that amount. The farmer knows that he cannot 
buy $2 worth of artificial fertiliser that will give 
the results on most soils that one ton of manure will. 
This fact, which is realised by farmers everywhere, 
has led to a very careful investigation of the ways in 
which manure benefits the soil, aside from adding 
the small amount of plant food it contains. These 
supplementary benefits, which the chemist knows 
nothing of and does not consider in his estimates of 
the value of different kinds of manures, are often 
of far greater practical value in crop production 
than the plant food that the manure contains. 

Manure Improves Texture of the Soil. — The 
chief value of manure, on many soils is not the plant 
food it adds but its beneficial effect upon the tex- 
ture of the soil. In the preceding chapter it was 
shown that most farm soils, even those that are 
unproductive and worn-out, contain large amounts 
of plant food; and that the cause of the unpro- 
ductiveness is more apt to be that the soil is in poor 
condition, or bad heart, than that it is exhausted of 
plant food. 



348 SOILS 

One of the great functions of manure is to 
improve the condition of the soil, so that the 
plant can more readily use the plant food in it. 
Examine old, dry, cow dung in the pasture. The 
plant food in it has been mostly washed out; a 
spongy, fibrous material is left which, when 
crumbled, presents such equable conditions of 
moisture and temperature, that florists like to sow 
cineraria and other extremely fine and delicate 
seeds upon it. This material, which is about one- 
quarter of the original substance of manure — the 
balance being water — is composed mostly of food 
that the animal did not digest. When incorpo- 
rated with the soil it greatly improves the texture, 
loosening a heavy, compact soil and binding to- 
gether a light, leachy one; making the soil more 
friable, warmer, more retentive of moisture and 
more congenial to plants in every way. 

In three years' experiments. King found that 
manured fallow ground contained eighteen tons 
more water per acre in the first foot of soil than 
similar land unmanured, while the total gain of 
water in the first three feet of soil was thirty-four 
tons. Being already fine and partially decayed, 
the vegetable matter in manure is at once thor- 
oughly incorporated with the soil, becoming humus; 
while a green-manuring crop plowed under is con- 
verted into humus slowly. No one who has seen 
the almost magical improvement in a hard, clay 
soil by a single liberal dressing of manure can doubt 
that its value is largely, sometimes mostly, in its 
effect upon soil texture. 

The Bacteria in Manure. — Aside from the humus 
it adds, manure benefits the soil in other ways, most 
o£ which are still imperfectly understood. It is 
known that manure contains countless numbers of 




107. A COMxMUN, AND AN EXTREMELY WASTEFUL METHOD OF 
STORING FARM MANURES 

Rains and the drippings from the eaves may wash out two thirds of the plant food 
in this manure before it is spread upon the land 




108. THE DARK-COLOURED PUDDLE IN THE BARNYARD CONTAINS 
THE ESSENCE AND THE RICHNESS OF THE MANURE 
No man can maintain the fertility of his farm economically if he permits such a waste 




lU'J. THE MAXUKE FILES FROM THIS HAKN DRAIN INTO THE 

POND, WHICH IB COVERED WITH "DUCK MEAT" IN 

TESTIMONY OF ITS RICHNESS 

Good for ducks, but the land of this farmer needs that fertility badly 




110. MANURE WA( . i , \ : 1 M 1 1 RECEU ES THE MANURE FROM THE 

STALLS AND IROM WHICH IT IS SPREAD ON 

THE LAND EACH DAY 

The sooner manure is got upon the land the better 



FARM MANURES 349 

bacteria that are beneficial to the soil. When the 
vegetable matter in manure decays in the soil 
certain acids and ferments are produced which have 
a decided influence upon the supply of available 
plant food. In short, the addition of manure to 
farm soils sets in motion a series of activities which 
profoundly affect the productivity of the land. All 
this is in addition to the plant food value of manure. 
It is altogether probable that we do not know half 
of the direct and indirect benefits of manure upon 
farm soils. But we do know enough about it to 
place its agricultural value far above its plant food 
value. Commercial fertilisers influence the soil 
almost solely in regard to its supply of plant food ; 
farm manures influence all the soil conditions which 
are essential to the production of profitable crops. 
There is no comparison whatever between the two. 

THE COMPARATIVE PLANT FOOD VALUE 
OF DIFFERENT MANURES 

The amount of plant food in different kinds of 
manure depends upon the animals from which it 
came and the care it has received. Analyses of 
the excretions of various animals are given in the 
Appendix. It will be noted that horse manure is 
richer in nitrogen than either cow or hog manure. 
An average sample contains about 6 per cent, of 
nitrogen, 3 per cent, of phosphoric acid and 5 per 
cent, of potash. It is, however, liable to "fire 
fang," or ferment, unless kept compact and moist; 
this lowers its value somewhat. Horse manure 
varies in composition more than any other, because 
of the greater variety of ways in which it is handled, 
particularly as regards the use of bedding. 

Cow and hog manure contain more water than 



350 SOILS 

other kinds and are relatively poorer in plant 
food, especially in nitrogen. An average sample 
of either contains about 4 per cent, of nitro- 
gen, 2 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and 5 per 
cent, of potash. 

Sheep manure is commonly richer than the 
manure of any other farm animal, except poultry. 
It is comparatively dry and since it is usually al- 
lowed to accumulate in pens, where it is tramped 
hard by the animals, it is less apt to suffer a loss of 
plant food than other kinds. Ordinarily it con- 
tains about 8 per cent, of nitrogen, 2 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid, and 7 per cent, of potash. 

Poultry manure is the richest of farm manures, 
largely because it contains the semi-solid urine, 
and there is little waste. It is especially rich in 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid. An average sample 
contains 12 per cent, of nitrogen, 9 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid and 6 per cent of potash. 

Average values for different manures are : Sheep 
manure, $4.20 per ton; mixed farmyard manure, 
$2.25 per ton; hen manure, $6.50 per ton; hog 
manure, $3.20 per ton; livery-stable manure, $2.45 
per ton; cow manure, $2.43 per ton. These figures 
are based solely on their plant food content and do 
not consider the value of the manure for improving 
the soil in other ways. 

THE QUALITY OF MANURE 

The age and the condition of the animal influence 
the quality of manure. Manure from young ani- 
mals is not as rich as that from full grown animals, 
because the former digest a larger proportion of 
their food than the latter. Cows in milk return 
only about 65 to 75 per cent, of the manurial value 



FARM MANURES 351 

of their food in their excrements, while cows that 
are being fattened return 80 to 90 per cent. 

The kind of food that the animal eats has a 
marked effect upon the richness of its manure. 
The more grain there is fed to them, especially such 
foods as wheat bran, gluten meal and cotton-seed 
meal, the richer the manure, since these grains are 
rich in protein. Animals fed solely on hay of poor 
quality produce manure that is much inferior to 
that of grain-fed animals. In short, the richer the 
ration, the richer the manure. 

The kind and quantity of bedding used affects the 
value of manure, also the individuality of the animal. 
Some animals use a larger proportion of their food 
for making milk, or beef, or mutton, than others; 
what is not used is recovered in the manure. 

HOW MANURE IS WASTED 

There are still many sections where barn manure 
is not used upon the land, and, in fact, is considered 
a nuisance. In parts of Oregon farmers give 
away manure for the hauling, and are glad to be 
rid of it. In counties of California and Oklahoma 
manure is dumped into the river. Some Missouri, 
Kansas, and North Dakota farmers use it to fill up 
holes, or dump it in heaps beside the fields and 
roads. Some South Dakota farmers burn it to 
get rid of it. In Idaho it is frequently seen piled 
as high as a barn. The waste of manure in parts 
of the West is a painful sight to the Eastern farmer 
who knows that the land will soon be in need of it. 
On the very farms where manure is thrown away 
in this manner the soil is often greatly benefited by 
it, even now. These improvident methods, how- 
ever, are becoming less and less common. 



352 SOILS 

The plant food in manure is subject to serious 
loss. Although there may be but little plant food in 
manure, as compared with artificial fertilisers, yet 
most of it is very soluble and is easily lost, if the 
manure is not handled carefully. The plant food 
in manure is wasted in two ways ; by leaching and 
by fermentation. 

The Leaching of Manure. — No other farm 
practice has been discussed more than that of al- 
lowing plant food to leach from manures. One 
can scarcely attend a farmers' institute without 
hearing about it, or read a farm journal without 
seeing a reference to it. All this agitation has 
probably saved many million dollars, worth of 
plant food that otherwise would have been wasted. 
Yet is it doubtful if one per cent, of American farm- 
ers realise what they lose by neglecting to care 
for manures properly. One estimate places the 
annual loss of plant food on American farms, by 
leaching from manure that could easily have been 
prevented, as $200,000,000 or over four times what 
is paid each year for commercial fertilisers. If the 
leaks on a few farms are noted, and the number of 
farms in a neighbourhood that suffer similar 
losses are counted, one will conclude that this 
estimate is not too high. The saving of manures 
is indeed a threadbare subject; but there is such 
urgent need that farmers adopt better methods of 
handling manures that one is justified in harping 
upon it 

One of the most common farm scenes in eastern 
United States is a row of manure piles beneath the 
eaves of the barn. Each pile extends up to the 
hole or window out of which it was thrown from 
behind the cows or horses. Water from the roof 
drips upon it; rains and snows beat upon it; winds 



FARM MANURES 353 

dry it. After a heavy rain the puddles in the yard 
are black with richness that has leached from these 
piles of manure. This is the fertility of the farm 
running to waste. Manure handled in this way may 
lose over half of its plant food. Roberts found 
that a ton of manure exposed in this way for six 
months lost 42 per cent, of its plant food. Another 
ton exposed from April 25 to Sept. 22 lost 60 per 
cent, of its nitrogen, 47 per cent, of its phosphoric 
acid and 76 per cent, of its potash, a loss in value 
from $2.80 per ton to $1.06. When the pile of 
exposed manure is finally hauled away it has lost 
a large part of its soil-improving value. A dark- 
coloured stain on the side of the barn is pretty 
good evidence of shiftless farming in this respect. 

The loss of plant food from manure by leaching 
depends largely upon the climate; the wetter it 
is the greater the loss. In the arid and semi-arid 
regions it is not large; but in every case it is large 
enough to set every farmer to thinking how he may 
best prevent it. 

Loss from Fermentation. Another way in which 
manure often loses value is by heating, or fermenta- 
tion. When manure is piled up, especially horse 
manure, it begins to heat and decay. This fer- 
mentation is caused by the growth of bacteria. 
These need heat and air; the warmer the manure 
is, and the more loosely it is piled, so that it is full 
of air, the more quickly it heats. The nitrogen in 
fermenting manure is rapidly changed into am- 
monia, which escapes into the air. Every one has 
noticed the pronounced "smell" of manure piled 
up loosely and heating. It is plant food escaping. 

The heating of manure also injures it in another 
way. Part of the vegetable matter in it, which 
becomes humus when applied to the soil, is burned. 



354 SOILS 

The higher the manure heats, the greater is the 
loss. Dry, white, " fire-f anged " manure has had 
a large part of its humus-making material destroyed. 
Loss from the Escape of Urine. — ^A third way in 
which manure loses value is by failing to catch the 
liquid portion. This contains more nitrogen and 
more potash than the dung; yet, in many cases, 
liquid manure is allowed to run to waste, while the 
dung is saved. Moreover the plant food in the 
liquid portion is immediately available to plants. 
It should be saved as carefully as the solid portions 
of the excrements. 

HOW TO CARE FOR MANURES 

Leaching usually causes more loss of plant food 
from manure than either fermentation or the waste 
of liquid manure; attention should first be given to 
preventing this loss. There are two ways of doing 
this : by hauling the fresh manure from the stable 
and spreading it upon the land at once; and by 
piling it under cover. 

Hauling manure direct from stable to field in- 
volves little or no loss of fertility, as compared with 
storing it, and is the most satisfactory method 
whenever it is expedient. Usually, however, it is 
not expedient to do this at certain seasons of the 
year; it would interfere very seriously with other 
farm work, while the hauling of stored manure 
may be done to advantage in late fall and very 
early spring when other work is not pressing. 

Usually at least a portion of the manure must be 
stored, especially that made during the busy 
months of seed time and harvest. In this case there 
is but one sane thing to do; that is, to pile the 
manure under cover. This is the only safe way 



FARM MANURES 355 

to prevent leaching; a single, heavy, summer 
shower may leach away enough plant food from 
an exposed pile to pay a large part of the slight 
expense of covering the pile. 

Covered barnyards are sometimes practicable. 
The animals tramp the manure and so keep it 
from fermenting. The cattle are exercised and 
watered there, in winter especially. It is neces- 
sary, however, to use a considerable quantity of 
bedding and to keep the yard dry. A yard 30 x 50 
feet is large enough for fifteen to twenty cows, but 
they should be dehorned. 

Manure Pits. — Another method, preferred by 
many, is to build shallow, covered cement pits, 
adjacent to the stable. Into these the manure is 
dumped ; the liquid manure from the gutters in the 
stable may drain into them. In large dairy stables 
manure is collected on trucks or cars which are 
run on tracks to these pits. The pits should be 
large enough to hold the manure made in several 
weeks,-, or as long as it is convenient to wait before 
hauling it to the field. This is one of the most 
practicable ways of storing manure. 

If a cement pit cannot be had, and the manure 
must be stored outside the barn, it is a simple 
matter to build a shed over it. But part of the 
liquid in the manure will drain off, and the farmer 
can ill afford to lose it. Therein is the great ad- 
vantage of covered cement pits. 

Many barns are built so that the manure can be 
shoved down a scuttle into a cellar. In some 
cases the cellar is cement-lined and excellent con- 
ditions for storing manure are thus secured. Often 
the cellar bottom is not cemented allowing the loss 
of part of the liquid manure. Cellars beneath the 
stable do very well, so far as the saving of manure 



356 SOILS 

is concerned; but there are decided sanitary 
objections to this method. The stable above is 
almost sure to be bad-smeUing. Thorough ventila- 
tion and the use of gypsum will do much to alleviate 
this condition; but manure should be stored away 
from, not beneath, the animals, especially in a dairy. 

The manure of animals confined in pens, as 
sheep and young stock, is usually stored without 
serious loss, if it is allowed to accumulate and an 
abundance of bedding is used. The manure is 
tramped down very firmly by the animals, all the 
liquid portion is absorbed, and there is little loss 
by fermentation or leaching. 

How to Prevent Loss by Heating. — The fermenta- 
tion that makes manure deteriorate in value takes 
place only when it is piled loosely, so that air passes 
through it readily. Compacting the manure, as 
with the tramping of animals, prevents this loss. 
Manure must also be only moist, not wet, in order 
to ferment; so that if it is kept wet with the liquid 
excrement, there is little likelihood that it will heat. 
Sometimes it is practicable to wet the manure 
occasionally. If fermenting manure has a small 
amount of fresh manure mixed with it the heating 
will be checked. 

Methods of Saving Liquid Manure. — The simplest 
way to save liquid excrement is to provide plenty of 
bedding to absorb it. Many materials are used for 
bedding and these affect the value of the manure. 
It is commonly thought that strawy manure is not 
as valuable as clear manure ; yet the straw in manure 
may have absorbed much of the liquid excrement, so 
that strawy manure may be really more valuable 
than that which contains little straw. 

The objects of bedding are not only to keep the 
animals comfortable and clean but also to catch 



FARM. MANURES 357 

the urine and to increase the bulk of the manure 
so that it can be distributed more evenly. Straw 
is most generally used and is quite satisfactory. 
Marsh hay, cornstalks, leaves, sawdust and shav- 
ings are used more or less. The two latter should 
be used in moderate quantities; in large amounts 
they lower the value of the manure. Pine needles 
are believed to injure the manure. Fine, dry sand 
or soil is, sometimes used to advantage, and oc- 
casionally peat or muck. These earthy materials 
have greater value for bedding than strawy mate- 
rials because they absorb ammonia gas as well as 
liquids, and so save nitrogen and keep the air of 
the stable sweet. 

The plan of collecting the liquid manure and 
distributing it upon the fields by means of a tank 
with a sprinkling attachment has not been found 
generally practicable. Ordinarily it is more satis- 
factory to absorb the liquid manure with bedding. 

The use of bedding will not entirely prevent the 
loss of plant food from the stable. There is al- 
ways a considerable amount of ammonia escaping, 
as the sharp odour about stables bears evidence. 
This can be prevented by using chemical ab- 
sorbents which enter into combination with the 
ammonia, making a salt of ammonia that is not 
volatile. Land plaster (gypsum) is most com- 
monly used for this purpose. Kainit and super- 
phosphate are used to some extent, enriching the 
manure not only with the nitrogen they catch but 
also with the plant food they contain. These 
materials should be scattered in the stables at 
the rate of one to two pounds per animal 
daily, and also over the manure piles. Dry 
sand, earth, peat or muck answer quite well 
for this purpose. 



358 SOILS 

AMOUNT OF MANURE MADE ON THE FARM 

The amount of manure that will be made during 
a year by a given number of animals is capable of 
fairly accurate calculation. A common estimate is: 

Horse, 12,000 lbs. of solids, and 3,000 lbs. of liquids. 

Cow, 20.000 " " " " 8,000 " " 

Sheep, 760 " " " " 380 " " 

Swine, 1,800 " " " " 1,200 " " 

Another method, resulting from many careful 
experiments, is to multiply the amount of "dry 
matter" in the food for one year by 2.1 for the 
horse, by 3.8 for the cow, by 1.8 for the sheep. 
Add to these figures the weight of bedding used. 
Thus if a cow eats thirty pounds of dry matter a 
day she will produce about 30 x 3.8, or one hundred 
and fourteen pounds of manure a day, besides the 
bedding. The age of the animals, their condition 
and their food influence the amount of manure 
made. 

According to Heiden's rule for calculating man- 
ure, the following quantities of cow manure may be 
expected from feeding one ton of the feeds named: 

GREEN FEEDS 

Pounds 

Corn fodder 1,590 

Rye fodder 1,797 

Red top 2,465 

Oat fodder 2,903 

Orchard grass 2,074 

Timothy 2,942 

Hungarian grass 2,220 

Red clover 2,243 

Crimson clover 1,482 

Alfalfa 2,166 

Cowpeas 1,260 

Soja beans 2,188 

Corn Silage 1,605 



FARM MANURES 359 

DBT FEEDS 

Pounds 

Com fodder 4,439 

Orchard grass hay 6,920 

Red top hay 6,996 

Timothy hay 6,282 

Hungarian grass hay 7,089 

Red clover hay 6,505 

Crimson clover hay 7,020 

Alsike clover hay 6,935 

Alfalfa hay 7,035 

Cowpea hay 6,858 

Soja bean hay 6,428 

Millet hay 6,931 

The amount of plant food in manure may also 
be estimated with considerable accuracy, if one 
knows the kinds and the amounts of foods that 
the animal consumes. Numerous digestion ex- 
periments have shown the amounts of the fer- 
tilising materials in various feeds and fodders that 
are ordinarily recovered in the manure. Knowing 
the amount of each feed and fodder that 
each animal eats, the amount of potash, 
phosphoric acid and nitrogen in each food, 
and the percentage of this that is commonly 
recovered in the manure, one can tell how rich 
the manure should be. 

Most farms do not produce enough manure to 
dress the fields satisfactorily. Sometimes manure 
may be bought to advantage, especially livery- 
stable manure, city street sweepings, or stockyard 
manure. Ordinarily it will not pay to give over 
a dollar a ton for average barnyard or stable ma- 
nure, and not this much if the haul is long. If the 
farm is near a town, stable manure may often be 
obtained for the hauling, especially if the farmer 
agrees to haul it away whenever necessary. 



860 SOILS 

WHEN TO APPLY MANURES 

No advice can be given that is generally ap- 
plicable, but a few suggestions will show the great 
diversity of practice. In general the sooner ma- 
nure is spread upon the soil after it is made, the 
more will the soil be benefited. But other con- 
siderations affect this point. The state of decay 
and the kind of crop must be considered. Rotted 
manure — that which has partially decayed — may 
be applied to better advantage in the spring than 
fresh or "green" manure. Rotted manure is 
commonly preferred for the lighter soils and fresh 
manure for the heavier soils. Market-garden 
crops, especially, prefer rotted manure, chiefly 
because its plant food is somewhat more quickly 
available than that in fresh manure, and these 
crops need this to make a quick start and a very 
rapid growth. Gardeners often make manure 
into a compost with leaves and vegetable and 
animal refuse of all sorts. The material is put 
into a long, low, flat-topped pile which is turned 
over and mixed several times. Ordinarily it is 
allowed to rot for two years. 

One of the most common practices on American 
farms is to broadcast fresh manure on grass land 
that is to be plowed after the next crop of 
hay. Another is to manure heavily for corn, 
which does not object to large amounts of coarse 
fresh manure, and to follow corn with a crop that 
prefers to have the manure quite well rotted, as it 
will be after having lain in the soil a year. 

Spreading Manure in Winter. — On a majority 
of farms most of the manure that is available is 
produced during the winter months when the 
animals are housed. Farm work is usually light 



FARM MANURES 361 

at that time of the year and it would be a great 
advantage to spread the manure frequently during 
the winter rather than to wait until early spring, 
when roads, lanes and fields are miry and when other 
farm work demands attention. But some farmers 
fail to spread manure in winter because they think 
much of the plant food in it will be washed away. 
Usually the danger of loss is far less than is feared. 
Manure spread upon the land in winter loses 
little of its value unless the land is quite steep so 
that there is considerable surface washing. If the 
land is fairly level there need be no appreciable 
loss. Manures spread at this season do not fer- 
ment, because the temperature is too low. Man- 
ure spread in winter should be applied to land on 
which plants are growing, as on sod or on cover 
crops. It is especially desirable to manure in 
winter land that is to be planted to Indian corn. 
Sometimes heavy snows make winter spreading 
impracticable. 

HOW MUCH MANURE TO USE 

In applying manure the amount of the different 
plant foods in it should be kept in mind; also 
whether it is being used chiefly to improve the tex- 
ture of the soil or to supply plant food. The 
nature of the soil and the crop are other deciding 
points. 

Manures are often applied too freely. Rarely 
is it profitable to apply over 40 two-horse loads per 
acre, and 25 to 35 loads is about the maximum 
amount under most conditions. Ordinarily farm- 
ers use from 4 to 10 cords of cow manure per acre; 
market gardeners, however, who grow plants under 
special conditions so that their methods cannot 



362 SOILS 

be compared with the methods of general 
farming, often use 30 to 50 cords per acre. 
A cord of fresh cow manure weighs about 
three tons. 

Light Dressings Desirable. — If a certain field 
is in special need of the mellowing and enriching 
effect of manure, a heavy dressing may be given; 
but usually it is more profitable to spread 30 cords 
of manure over 10 acres, if 30 cords is all that can 
be had, than to put ail of it on 5 acres. A moder- 
ate increase in yield on 10 acres is better than a 
heavy increase on 5 acres. The farther a field is 
from the barn, the less likely it will pay to haul a 
heavy dressing of manure to it; for manure is 
bulky and expensive to handle. It may be 
more practicable to put humus into such 
fields by green-manuring, and perhaps commer- 
cial fertilisers can be used there to advan- 
tage. 

Although manure is a complete fertiliser, it is 
not well balanced since it usually contains much 
more nitrogen than either of the other two plant 
foods. An abundance of nitrogen promotes a very 
vigorous growth of leaves and stems, but it is not 
so valuable for developing seeds and fruits. Too 
heavy applications of manure may make the wheat 
lodge or the fruit soft. For this reason if only a 
limited amount of manure is available, it is best 
to use it most freely on the crops that are valued 
chiefly for a very vigorous growth of stem or leaf, 
as the grasses, clover, most garden vegetables, and 
forage crops. Commercial fertilisers should be used 
on manured soil to supply the plant food that 
manure is deficient in and so balance it; as 
by using superphosphate on land manured for 
cotton. 




;5'9*?5r*^'' 



111. MANURE PILED IX THE FIELD, TO BE SPREAD LATER 
This is often more convenient than spreading direct from the wagon, but it must not 



be left in piles long 



nl 



^Hl/ 







."^^T*:;^- 



112. SPREADING MANURE FROM THE WAGON ON CORN STUBBLE 
A manure spreader does the work more evenly but not more cheaply 




n;i. iiUYiN(; plant food in sacks 

This is pr.ictical)lo only to siii)l)lcmcnt lionif rrsourccs. He sure you know what 

l<ind of actual plant food is in the ban. and how much. Buy 

by analysis, not by brand 



200 r»OUNDS 

,LOW GRADE BLOOU AND BONE 

; PUT UP BY THE 

/ |E. 0. PAINTER FERTILIZER COllPANY 

I JACKSONVIUUE, RCORIDA 

- Dealers .nan K.nUso,Pe..n..,n,Matena .s a..U Che„,„n,s. 



114. A FERTILISER TAG TAKEN FROM A SACK, SHOWIXC, THE 
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS OF THE FERTILISER 

Some of the analyses printed on fertiliser taRs, while perhaps true, arc apt to be 

misleading. The farmer should be able to figure out from the tag 

how much he could afford to pay for the fertiliser 



FARM MANURES 363 

HOW TO APPLY MANURE 

The most practicable method in many cases, 
especially in winter, is to spread it direct from the 
wagon, cart, or sled. Fresh manure distributed 
from wagons in winter is not apt to be spread very 
evenly and should be scattered in spring with a 
brush drag. The manure may be dumped in 
piles, which are spread later. The merit of this 
plan is that it economises team work, so the rela- 
tive cost of team and hand labour must be consid- 
ered. If the manure is dumped in piles, it should 
be spread very soon; otherwise the ground on 
which it is piled becomes over-rich. Some farmers 
leave manure in the field in piles for several months ; 
their crops are decidedly "spotted" for two or 
three seasons thereafter. 

Manure spreaders are of little advantage to 
the average farmer, chiefly because they carry such 
a small load in proportion to the draft, and their 
expense. They do, however, distribute manure 
more evenly than it is usually done by hand. 



CHAPTER XIV 

COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 

ONE OF the most striking features of 
American agriculture is the extraordinary 
rapidity with which the commercial fertil- 
iser industry has developed. Bone, wood ashes 
and a few other natural products ^ have been 
in use for centuries, but the first use of artifi- 
cial fertilisers — the "phosphates" of the modern 
farmer — was about 1845. Not till after 1860, how- 
ever, were they used to any great extent. The 
annual fertiliser bill of American farmers to-day 
is close to fifty millions of dollars. This is paid 
mostly by the farmers of about twenty of the 
Eastern States, for commercial fertilisers are used 
very little in most of the Western States. 

In round numbers, we have paid about a quarter 
of a billion of dollars for artificial fertilisers in the 
last five years. In no other country are commercial 
fertilisers used to the extent they are here. Yet 
only a small per cent, of our farm soils have shown 
the need of fertilising. When the millions of acres 
of rich. Western farm lands have passed through the 
same history of gradual decline as those in the East 
— as they certainly will — what will our fertiliser bill 
be, a hundred years hence ? Where is this enormous 
and rapidly increasing expense account leading us ? 
Are the results secured by the present lavish 
use of artificial fertilisers sufficient to justify us in 
continuing the practice or is there a cheaper way 
of solving the problem of declining fertility ? 

364 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 365 

Changed EconoTnic Conditions. — The rapid 
growth of the fertiliser trade is not necessarily an 
indication that American farmers have preferred 
artificial fertilisers to farm manures. Since 1865 
we have passed through great economic and social 
changes which have favoured the use of artificial 
fertilisers. The most important of these, as related 
to agriculture, is the rapid growth of cities. This 
has developed the great market-garden, fruit and 
trucking interests which are the chief users of 
commercial fertilisers. Market-garden and truck 
farmers, many of whom are, of necessity, located 
near cities on high-priced land, often find it im- 
practicable to keep stock or give up the use of their 
expensive land for green-manuring, even for a short 
season. They must keep a money-crop growing 
upon it every day of the season. With them, the 
soil is merely the medium for transforming the 
plant food which they spread upon it into merchant- 
able crops. The modern market garden near a 
large city more nearly resembles a manufacturing 
establishment than a farm. Under such con- 
ditions, the use of artificial fertilisers, as well as 
purchased manures, is probably the most prac- 
ticable course to pursue. There are also many 
instances where artificial fertilisers are seemingly 
almost indispensable — as, for example, in the cul- 
ture of pineapples on the almost barren sands of 
eastern Florida. 

The staple-crop farmer, however, has not these 
peculiar economic conditions to contend with. 
The time-honoured methods of maintaining soil 
fertility by green-manuring, by a rotation of crops 
and by the use of animal manures — he can use if he 
chooses. Unquestionably commercial fertilisers 
will be used more and more extensively in market 



366 SOILS 

gardening and in the culture of special crops and 
on certain soils; but the indications are that their 
use in general farm practice as a chief source of 
fertility is on the wane, while the use of the more 
natural resources, green-manuring and farm ma- 
nures, is on the increase. Often artificial fertilisers 
have been used to remedy temporarily the effects 
of poor texture, due to mismanagement. Com- 
mercial fertilisers, if used at all in general farming, 
should be applied sparingly and as a supplement 
to natural resources, not as the main source of 
fertility. 

WHAT COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS ARE MADE OF 

The term is usually applied simply to materials 
which contain the essential plant foods — nitrogen, 
potash and phosphoric acid. These are found in 
many materials: some are mineral products, as 
nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, phosphate rock; 
some are animal products, as dried blood and 
tankage, which are wastes from the slaughter 
houses, and boneblack, which is a refuse in refining 
sugar. These raw materials are combined in 
various ways, and in different proportions, per- 
haps treated with acids. One brand of commercial 
fertiliser may be made of two or three of these raw 
materials ; another may contain many kinds. 

Complete and Incomplete Fertilisers. — Com- 
mercial fertilisers are either "complete" or "in- 
complete." A complete fertiliser contains all three 
of the essential plant foods ; an incomplete fertiliser 
contains but one or two. Most fertilisers sold in 
this country are complete. The reason for this, 
from the manufacturer's point of view, is obvious. 
He knows little or nothing of the kind of soil upon 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 367 

which the fertiHser will be applied, or of its needs 
as regards plant food. In order to be sure that it 
will be of some benefit on all soils, then, it is neces- 
sary for it to contain all three plant foods. But, as 
will be emphasised later on, very few soils really 
need additions of all three; some need only one. 
In such cases the use of a complete fertiliser is 
wasteful. 

Many Brands. — Most fertiliser manufacturers 
sell many brands, or different combinations of raw 
materials. Some firms sell as many as forty-five 
brands, each one, presumably, different from all 
the others, and designed to meet the needs of cer- 
tain soils or certain crops. Thus we have Smith's 
Mortgage-lifter Fertiliser, Jones' Sure-crop Fer- 
tiliser, Brown's Special Potato Fertiliser, White's 
Corn Fertiliser, and so on. In one year 1,112 
brands of fertilisers were sold in the State of New 
York alone. In most states the number is from 
150 to 300. 

State Supervision oj the Fertiliser Trade. — How 
shall the farmer know which of these many brands 
to choose.^ Some of them are just what his soil 
and crops need; some would be almost worthless 
to him. The national and state governments have 
now come to the assistance of the farmer in this 
important matter. State laws specify that no fer- 
tiliser manufacturer or dealer shall sell any brand 
of fertiliser in any state, either direct from the 
factory or through an agent, until the brand has 
first been registered with some appointed authority, 
usually the Director of the State Experiment 
Station. The manufacturer is further required to 
put a tag on each bag of fertiliser, giving an anal- 
ysis of its contents specifying the amount of each of 
the essential plant foods it contains. Every year 



368 SOILS 

the Experiment Station of each state in which fer- 
tiHsers are used extensively, collects samples of the 
fertilisers offered for sale in that state, and analyses 
each one to see if it contains as much plant food as 
the manufacturer claims that it does. If it is found 
to contain less than the guarantee on the tag 
specifies, the manufacturer is subject to prosecution. 
The effect of this state supervision of the fer- 
tiliser trade has been very satisfactory. The 
feneral standard of the business has been raised, 
lach year the Experiment station of each state 
publishes a bulletin listing all the brands of fertilisers 
that have been registered for that year, also the 
guaranteed analysis of each as shown by the 
manufacturer's tag, and the actual value, as shown 
by analyses at the Experiment station. Farmers 
who use fertilisers should get these bulletins. 

Studying Fertiliser Tags. — Some of the guaran- 
tees printed on fertiliser tags are misleading. The 
real analysis is sometimes obscured by adding to it 
statements of valueless materials that the fertil- 
iser contains, and by repeating the real analysis in 
another form, thus making the buyer who is not 
skilled in such matters think he is getting more 
for his money than he really does. Roberts states 
that the following guarantee was on a fertiliser sold 
in New York: 

Percent. 

Total bone phosphate 30 to 35 

Yielding phosphoric acid 14 to 16 

Soluble bone phosphate 22 to 26 

Yielding water-soluble phosphoric acid . . 10 to 12 

Total available bone phosphate 26 to 30 

Available phosphoric acid 12 to 14 

Insoluble bone phosphate 2 to 4 

Yielding insoluble phosphoric acid . . . 1 to f- 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 369 

What a lot of dust-raising! Doubtless it is all 
true ; and the manufacturer has complied with the 
law that requires him to state on the tag the amount 
of plant food contained in the fertiliser. But the 
buyer wants to know just one thing — how much 
available potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen 
the fertiliser contains. This tag should have 
read :• 

Per cent. 

Soluble phosphoric acid 10 

Reverted phosphoric acid 2 

That is all there is in it of value to the farmer. 
The most reliable manufacturers print on their tags 
a bare statement of the amount of actual plant 
food the fertiliser contains. 

Repetitions in Guarantees. — Another fertiliser 
tag reads: 

Per cent. 

1. Ammonia 3 to 5 

2. Available phosphoric acid 11 to 13 

3. Total phosphoric acid 15 to 19 

4. Total bone phosphate 27 to 30 

5. Actual potash 12 to 14 

6. Muriate of Potash . . 18 to 22 

There are several repetitions in this complete 
fertiliser. Contrary to the common idea among 
farmers, ammonia is not nitrogen; it is only four- 
fifths nitrogen, the other fifth being hydrogen, 
which has no value as a fertiliser. It will be 
necessary to multiply the 3 per cent, of ammonia 
by .82, the actual percentage of nitrogen in am- 
monia. This shows that there is 2.46 per cent, of 
the plant food nitrogen in this fertiliser, instead 
of 3 per cent. There is 11 per cent, of available 



370 SOILS 

phosphoric acid in this fertiliser, as shown in No. 2, 
out of the total amount of phosphoric acid it con- 
tains, 15 per cent., indicated in No. 3. We are 
not concerned about the bone phosphate in No. 4, 
because this is merely a repetition of the figures 
given for phosphoric acid; 4() per cent, of bone 
phosphate is actual phosphoric acid, and this has 
already been stated in Nos. 2 and 3. There is 
12 })er cent, of actual potash, which is that found in 
the nuiriate of potash jind repeated in No. G. The 
guarantee of this fertiliser might better be: 

Per Cent. 

Nitjogen 3 

Available phosphoric acid 11 

(furnished in bone phosphate) 

Insoluble pliosphorie acid 4 

Potash 12 

(furnished in muriate of potash) 

Always take the lowest per cent, given. Rarely 
does a fertiliser contain more than the minimum 
amount of plant food stated in the guarantee. 

THE FORMS OF PHOSPHORIC ACID 

The way in which the amount of phosphoric 
acid is stated is one of the most common sources 
of confusion. The nitrogen and potash in com- 
mercial fertilisers are mostly soluble and available 
to plants. But the phosphoric acid in fertilisers 
is more comj^lcx. It is usually not alone but com- 
bined with different amounts of lime, making 
"phosphates of lime" or '* phosphates." On fer- 
tiliser tags one will find these terms: '* available 
phosphoric acid," **soluble phosphoric acid," "in- 
soluble phosphoric acid," "reverted phosphoric 
acid." 

"Available" and "soluble" phosphoric acid 
are the same, for only plant food that is soluble in 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 371 

soil water can be available, or useful to plants. 
This valuable kind of phosphoric acid has but one 
part of lime with it and two parts of water: 

Lime >.^^^ 

Water— ^^Phosphoric acid. 
Water 

This is the kind of phosphoric acid that is found 
in superphosphates. It quickly dissolves in water 
and plants can use it at once. In some guarantees 
it is called "water-soluble phosphoric acid." 

"Insoluble phosphoric acid," on the other hand, 
has three parts of lime to one of phosphoric acid, 
and has no water, thus: 

Lime^,^^ 

Lime— — ^Phosphoric acid. 

Lime^"'^ 

This is the kind of phosphoric acid found in fresh 
bones and in the various "rock phosphates" taken 
from the mines. Since it cannot be dissolved in 
water, insoluble phosphoric acid has no value 
whatever as a plant food unless it can be changed 
into soluble phosphoric acid. As bones rot in the 
ground the insoluble phosphoric acid in them 
slowly becomes soluble, losing part of its lime. 
A quicker way to change this into plant food is to 
treat it with acids, which is the way superphos- 
phates are made. 

In studying fertiliser guarantees, remember 
that the "insoluble phosphoric acid" is not plant 
food and cannot become so until it has been made 
soluble. When applied to the soil, insoluble 
phosphoric acid may gradually become soluble. 
Hence it is customary, when figuring on the value 
of a fertiliser, to count the insoluble phosphoric 
acid as worth about one-half as much as the 
soluble. Some chemists, however, do not con- 
sider it worth even that much. 



372 SOILS 

The '* reverted pliosphoric acid" on fertiliser 
tags is intermediate between the soluble and the 
insoluble, thus: 

Lime .^^^ 

Lime — — rPhosphoric acid 

Reverted means turned back; this is phosphoric 
acid which was once soluble but is gradually be- 
coming insoluble, since more lime has been added 
to it. It' soluble phosphoric acid in the soil is not 
quickly used by plants it tends to revert. In this 
condition it is not quite as readily used by plants. 
However, the reverted phosphoric acid given in 
fertiliser analyses may be considered about as valu- 
jible as the soluble. Sometimes a tag will read 
''phosphoric acid soluble in ammonium citrate.'* 
l^his is reverted phosphoric acid, ammonium 
citrate being the weak acid used by chemists 
to dissolve it. 

Points that the fertiliser buyer should remember 
when studying guarantees are: 

1. Look for the percentage of nitrogen. If the 
analysis gives the percentage of ammonia, remem- 
ber that it is but four-fifths nitrogen. If the 
analysis says "equivalent to nitrate of soda," 
remember that but 15 ])er cent, of nitrate of soda 
is the plant food nitrogen. 

2. Look for the percentage of potash. If the 
tag says, "equivalent to sulphate of potash," or 
"equivalent to muriate of potash," remember that 
but half of sulphate or muriate of potash is the 
plant-food potash. 

3. Look for water-soluble phosphoric acid or 
available phosphoric acid. Insoluble phosphoric 
acid has half value; reverted phosphoric acid is 
slightly less valuable than soluble. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 373 

4. Look out for re-statements in the fertiliser 
tags, thus: 

Per cent. 

1. Bearing total bone phosphate . . 30 to 35 

2. Yielding phosphoric acid 14 to 16 

3. Soluble bone phosphate 22 to 26 

4. Yielding water-soluble phosphoric acid. 10 to 12 

5. Total available bone phosphate . . 26 to 30 

Statement No. 4 is the only one worth considering; 
the others are mainly re-statements in another 
form. "Equivalent to" or "Yielding" usually 
means that the plant food in the fertiliser has al- 
ready been stated in the guarantee in another 
form. To convert one material into another, 
when there is repetition, use the following table : 

To convert the guarantee of Multiply hy 

Ammonia . . . into Nitrogen 82 

Nitrate of soda . " Nitrogen 16 

Bone phosphate " Phosphoric acid . . .45 

Muriate of potash " Potash 63 

Sulphate of potash " Potash 54 

5. Pay no attention to anything in the guarantee 
that is not plant food. The amounts of "mois- 
ture," "silicic acid," "carbonic acid," "mag- 
nesia," "alumic oxid," "ferric oxid," and other 
materials that the fertiliser contains are of no 
interest or value to the buyer. 

CALCULATING THE VALUE OF A FERTILISER FROM 
THE ANALYSIS 

The value of a commercial fertiliser is based 
solely upon the amount of plant foot that it con- 
tains. Animal and green manures are often quite 
valuable for their effect upon the condition or 
"heart'* of the soil; but commercial fertilisers 
have little or no value in this respect. When 



374 SOILS 

buying a fertiliser the farmer should consider just 
two things; the amount of plant food in it and 
what it costs per pound in this form. It is a 
simple matter to estimate the value of a com- 
mercial fertiliser from its guarantee, provided the 
guarantee is not too confusing. Suppose a fer- 
tiliser is offered with the following guarantee: 

Per cent, 

1. Ammonia 2 to 4 

2. Available phosphoric acid 10 to 12 

3. Total phosphoric acid 14 to 17 

4. Equivalent to bone phosphate . . . . 30 to 37 

5. Potash 9 to 11 

6. Equivalent to sulphate of potash . 16 to 20 

The first thing to do is to draw a line through 
statements 4 and 6, because 4 is a repetition of 
2 and 3, while 6 is a restatement of 5. The 
ammonia must now be reduced to nitrogen by multi- 
plying 2 per cent, by .82, giving 1.64, the percent- 
age of actual nitrogen in the fertiliser. Since 
there is 14 per cent, of phosphoric acid in the fer- 
tiliser and but 10 per cent, of this is available, the 
inference is that the other 4 per cent, is insoluble. 
A simplified statement of the contents of this 
fertiliser is : 

Per cent. 

Nitrogen 1.64 

Available phosphoric acid 10 

Insoluble phosphoric acid 4 

Potash 9 

The number of pounds of each plant food in a ton 
of this fertiliser is then determined: 

1.64% of 2,000 lbs.= 32.8 lbs. of nitrogen in a ton. 
10% of 2.000 lbs.==200 lbs. of available phosphoric 
acid in a ton. 
4% of 2,000 lbs.= 80 lbs. of insoluble acid in a ton. 
9% of 2,000 lbs.=I80 lbs. of potash in a ton. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 375 

The trade values of the different plant foods in 
commercial fertilisers vary slightly from year to 
year but generally a pound of nitrogen is worth 
seventeen cents; a pound of potash four cents; a 
pound of available or water-soluble phosphoric 
acid, four and a half cents; this is what the 
several plant foods can be bought for in raw fer- 
tilising materials. The valuation of this partic- 
ular fertiliser is: 

Per ton 
Nitrogen, 32.8 lbs. @ 17 cents per lb. . . . $ 5.57 
Available phosphoric acid, 200 lbs. @ 4j cents 

per lb 9.00 

Insoluble phosphoric acid, 80 lbs. @ 2 J cents per lb. 1 .80 

Potash, 180 lbs. @ 4 cents per lb 7.20 

Total value per ton $23.57 

Such a fertiliser may cost $36 per ton, or more. 
The difference between this sum and $23.57, the 
actual value of the plant food in it, covers the cost 
of mixing, bagging, handling and the profit. On 
an average it costs about $8 per ton to mix, bag, 
and handle a ton of fertiliser before it finally 
reaches the buyer, and allow a fair profit for all 
concerned. If $8 is added to the actual plant food 
value of a fertiliser, as determined from the 
guaranteed analysis, the buyer knows what would 
be a fair price to pay for the fertiliser. 

LOW-GRADE FERTILISERS EXPENSIVE 

To meet the demand for a cheap fertiliser — a 
lot of fertiliser for the money — many manufac- 
turers sell "low-grade fertilisers" for $15 to $26 
per ton. But it costs as much to mix, bag, and 
handle a ton of fertiliser containing $15 worth of 
plant food as it does a ton of fertiliser containing 
$30 worth of plant food. Furthermore, the cost 



376 SOILS 

of applying it to the land is greater, since more 
has to be applied to give a certain result. Usually 
plant food can be bought more cheaply in a con- 
centrp.ted, or "high-grade fertiliser" than in a low 
grade. Even though a low-grade fertiliser may 
contain some high-grade materials, as sulphate 
of potash and nitrate of soda, the plant food in it 
usually costs more because this is weighed down 
with so much useless bulk. The farmer cannot 
afford to pay for bulk. Every pound of material 
in a ton of fertiliser which is not plant food 
adds to the price which the farmer must pay for 
the plant food. Usually the more concentrated 
the fertiliser, and hence the higher the price per 
ton, the cheaper it is. But one cannot make a 
mistake in buying a low-grade fertiliser if he figures 
on the guarantee. 

ADVANTAGES OF HOME-MIXING OF FERTILISERS 

It is a convenience to buy fertilisers mixed and 
ready to apply, provided the buyer examines the 
guarantee and finds that he can buy plant food in 
this fertiliser about as cheaply as though he bought 
the raw materials and mixed them himself; and 
provided, too, that this brand of fertiliser contains 
the several kinds of plant food in the right pro- 
portions for the soil and the crop to be grown. 
But this is not usually the case. Few farm soils 
need applications of all three plant foods; many 
need but one. Many brands of commercial fer- 
tilisers contain all three and the farmer may be 
buying plant food that his soil does not need, and 
so wasting his money. 

The raw materials out of which commercial fer- 
tilisers are made, may be bought and mixed on the 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 377 

farm. There are several advantages in doing 
this as compared with buying commercial brands. 
The most important one is that of being able to 
use but one or two of the plant foods, as is found 
necessary, and to gauge the proportions of each 
to suit the needs of the soil and the crop. There 
is also a saving in the cost of plant food, because the 
raw materials are mostly concentrated, and there 
is less expense in handling them. Added to this 
is the difficulty of always determining with absolute 
certainty the exact amount of plant food in a brand 
of commercial fertiliser owing to the ambiguous 
wording of many guarantees. 

On the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to 
buy these raw materials; they are not so generally 
distributed over the country, as brands of mixed 
fertilisers. Again, the mixed fertilisers are apt 
to be ground more finely than the unmixed. If 
a man uses but little fertiliser, it is likely that he 
will find it more expedient to buy a commercial 
brand; but if he uses a considerable amount it 
may be cheaper for him to buy plant food in the 
raw materials, not mixed. Most fertilizer dealers 
sell the raw materials as well as mixed fertilisers. 

The following raw materials are most com- 
monly used: 

SOURCES OF NITROGEN 

Nitrogen is the most costly of the three plant 
foods. For this reason special attention should 
be given to the means of producing it on the farm, 
as discussed in the two preceding chapters. The 
chief commercial sources fall into two classes: 
the "nitrates," which are salts; and "orgaric 
nitrogen," which is the nitrogen in plant and 



378 SOILS 

animal materials, as cottonseed meal, dried blood, 
etc. Plants can feed on a nitrate but not on 
organic nitrogen. It is necessary for the plant or 
animal product to thoroughly decay, during which 
process the organic nitrogen in it is changed into 
a nitrate, before plants are able to use this kind of 
food. This shows the value of knowing the source 
of the different plant foods in a fertiliser. 

Nitrate of Soda {Chili Saltpetre), is the chief 
commercial form of nitrogen as a nitrate. Large 
deposits of this salt are found in the arid sections 
of South America. It contains from 15.5 to 16 
per cent, of nitrogen. Nitrate of soda is dissolved 
in soil water almost immediately and becomes at 
once available as plant food. For this reason it 
should not be applied to land until the crop is 
planted, or just before. It is especially valuable 
for giving crops a quick start, and for promoting 
a luxuriant leaf and stem growth. 

Dried Blood is collected from slaughter houses. 
Red blood contains 12 to 14 per cent, of nitrogen, 
and black blood 6 to 12 per cent. This material 
decays very quickly in the soil, so that its plant 
food is quickly available for crops. It is one of 
the best sources of nitrogen. 

Cottonseed Meal usually contains 7 per cent, of 
nitrogen, together with 1§ to 2 per cent, each of 
potash and phosphoric acid. The nitrogen in it 
is as quickly available to plants as that in dried 
blood. This material can often be used to best 
advantage, however, by feeding it to stock and 
recovering most of the nitrogen in manure. 

Sulphate of Ammonia is a by-product in the 
manufacture of boneblack, illuminating gas and 
coke. It usually contains about 20 per cent, of 
nitrogen, being the most concentrated source of 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 379 

this plant food. The nitrogen in it is nearly as 
quickly available to plants as that in nitrate of 
soda. It should not be mixed with muriate of 
potash, as the muriate causes a loss of ammonia. 
Less important sources of nitrogen are the fol- 
lowing animal products: hoof meal, dry ground 
fish, tankage, Peruvian and other guanos, horn 
and hoof meal, wool and hair waste, dried meat or 
meal; and two vegetable products, linseed meal 
and castor pomace. These materials are usually 
obtained with greater diflficulty and are less 
valuable for the farmer unless he is so situated 
that he can buy them advantageously. The 
amount of plant food in each of these is given 
in the Appendix. 

SOURCES OF PHOSPHORIC ACID 

The principal sources of phosphoric acid are 
phosphate rocks and bones. In most cases the 
phosphoric acid is in combination with lime, mak- 
ing a phosphate of lime. Only a fertiliser that 
contains phosphoric acid is a *' phosphate," 
but this term is often applied by farmers to 
all fertilisers. For many years bones were the 
main source of phosphoric acid and they are 
still largely used. 

Raw Bone is that which has not been treated 
in any way, except by grinding. It should 
contain about 4 per cent, of nitrogen and 22 
per cent, of phosphoric acid ; but only 5 to 7 per 
cent, of the phosphoric acid is soluble, the 
remainder being insoluble. For this reason the 
phosphoric acid in raw bone is but slowly avail- 
able to plants, its usefulness extending over 
several years. 



380 SOILS 

Boiled and Steamed Bone. — Most of the bone used 
as fertiliser has been boiled or steamed to free it 
from fat. The fat is objectionable in a fertiliser 
and is valuable for soap; the meat contains nitro- 
gen and is used in making glue. Boiling or 
steaming reduces the amount of nitrogen in the 
bone, so that it contains about 28 to 30 per cent, 
phosphoric acid and only about 1| per cent, of 
nitrogen. About G to 9 per cent, of the phosphoric 
acid is soluble. Boiled or steamed bone, however, 
can be pulverised much finer than raw bone and 
this greatly increases its value for immediate use. 
It is much used in mixed fertilisers and is especially 
valuable for meadows. 

Both raw and boiled or steamed bone are sold 
under various trade names, as "meal," "dust," and 
"fine ground bone." These terms refer to fine- 
ness, not to composition, and there is no uniformity ; 
the "bone meal" of one manufacturer may be as 
fine as the "bone dust" of another. The finer 
it is, the better, since it decays more quickly. 

Dissolved Boneblack.—^aw bones are burnt 
until they become "animal charcoal" and are 
readily crushed into a fine powder. This "bone 
black" is used in refining sugar. It is then turned 
over to the fertiliser dealer, who finds that it con- 
tains 32 to 36 per cent, of phosphoric acid, mostly 
insoluble, and a small amount of nitrogen. Bone- 
black is sometimes used directly as a fertiliser, but 
more commonly is treated with oil of vitriol to make 
the phosphoric acid in it more soluble. The re- 
sulting product is "dissolved boneblack" which 
contains 15 to 17 per cent, of soluble phosphoric 
acid and is one of the most important of the phos- 
phates. Some superphosphates are dissolved 
boneblack. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 381 

Rock Phosphates. — Other sources of large 
amounts of phosphoric acid are mineral deposits 
in South Carohna, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee 
and Canada. These rock phosphates are mostly 
the fossil remains and the dung of animals, chiefly 
fish-eating birds. This rock differs widely in 
composition. South Carolina rock phosphate, dis- 
covered in 1868, is most generally used. It con- 
tains 26 to 28 per cent, of phosphoric acid, most of 
which is insoluble. This South Carolina rock is 
ground very fine and sold as "floats." Floats are 
often used for certain crops, especially on moist 
soils rich in humus. This raw, cheap, slowly- 
available mineral phosphate may often be used 
instead of the high-priced, quickly-available 
superphosphates, especially on perennial crops like 
fruit trees and grasses. It is becoming quite a 
common practice to use floats for the main supply 
of phosphoric acid and to supplement it with small 
amounts of a superphosphate. 

Florida rock phosphate, discovered in 1888, is 
more variable in composition than that found in 
South Carolina. It contains from 18 to 40 per 
cent, of phosphoric acid. The phosphoric acid 
in it seems to be much more slowly available than 
that in South Carolina rock. Tennessee rock 
phosphate, discovered in 1894, contains 30 to 32 
per cent, of insoluble phosphoric acid and is used 
chiefly in making superphosphates. 

Phosphate Slag, also sold as "Thomas slag," 
"Thomas phosphate meal" and "basic slag" is 
a by-product in the manufacture of Bessemer 
steel, phosphorus being an impurity in iron ore. 
The slag is ground to a fine powder and contains 
15 to 20 per cent, of phosphoric acid, much of 
which is soluble in soil water and so is quickly 



382 SOILS 

available for plants. This material is considered 
one of the best phosphates for general use, espe- 
cially on moist soils rich in humus and poor in lime. 
It is produced in this country in considerable 
quantities. 

Superphosphates. — Any phosphate, either bone 
or mineral, which has been treated with acid to 
render its phosphoric acid more soluble is called 
a superphosphate. One popular superphosphate — 
dissolved boneblack — has been mentioned. Dis- 
solved bone, made by treating raw ground bone 
with sulphuric acid, is another. It contains 13 to 
15 per cent, of available phosphoric acid and 2 to 
3 per cent, of nitrogen. The most common super- 
phosphate is that made by treating ground rock 
phosphate with sulphuric acid. The great fault 
of the raw rock and raw bone phosphates is their 
slowness; plants derive little benefit from them 
the same season that they are applied. To over- 
come this, the manufacturer mixes some strong 
acid with them, usually sulphuric acid. This 
makes most of the phosphoric acid in them 
soluble. 

Contrary to the belief of some, a well-made 
superphosphate contains no free acid that will 
make the ground "sour." The acid used in 
making it is all combined with lime, making 
gypsum, which is itself a valuable dressing 
for some soils. However much difference 
there may be in the agricultural value of 
raw bone phosphates and raw mineral phos- 
phates, a superphosphate made from one is as 
good as a superphosphate made from the other, 
per pound of phosphoric acid; the kind of raw 
material does not count after it has been treated 
with acid. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 383 

Besides dissolved bone and dissolved boneblack, 
which are the common bone superphosphates, 
*' plain superphosphate," '*acid phosphate," and 
"dissolved rock" are standard sources of this 
plant food. These are all superphosphates made 
from rock phosphate. That made from South 
Carolina rock is most common; it contains 12 to 
14 per cent, of soluble phosphoric acid. The 
"double superphosphate," containing about 45 
per cent, of available phosphoric acid, is not 
used much in this country. 

It is more difficult to decide what material to 
buy as a source of phosphoric acid than either of 
the other plant foods. The first question that 
arises is whether a raw bone or a raw mineral 
phosphate should be bought, or a superphosphate. 
The relative cost of the plant food in the different 
materials, its availability, and the special needs of 
the soil and crop must determine this. A pound 
of phosphoric acid can be bought in raw rock 
phosphate for two and a half cents; in raw 
ground bone for four cents and in a super- 
phosphate for five to six cents. Crops that 
mature quickly, including most vegetables, need 
quickly available fertilisers; while plants which 
grow for several seasons, as fruit trees and 
grasses, are able to get along with a certain 
amount of slowly available fertiliser. The cru- 
ciferous plants, as cabbage and turnip, ap- 
pear to do very well on the raw phosphates. 
Use as much of the slow-acting, but cheap, 
raw phosphates as practicable. Oftentimes 
a combination of superphosphate, for quick 
results, and raw phosphate, for general en- 
richment, is the best solution of the prob- 
lem. 



384 SOILS 

SOURCES OF POTASH 

There are few commercial sources of potash; 
the most important are wood ashes and the Ger- 
man potash salts. 

Wood Ashes. — Until the discovery of the potash 
salts, this was the chief potash fertiliser. Wood 
ashes are often leached with hot water to extract 
the potash for soap-making and other purposes. 
The ashes remaining contain only one-third as 
much potash as before — usually but 1 or 2 per cent. 
— besides 1| per cent, of phosphoric acid and 
30 per cent, of lime. Unleached wood ashes, if 
well cared for, should contain 6 to 9 per cent, of 
potash, 2 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and about 
32 per cent, of lime. Hardwood ashes are richer 
than softwood ashes. 

Wood ashes are so variable in composition, ac- 
cording to their source, impurities and care, that 
one should buy them only on a guaranteed analy- 
sis. A good sample is worth about twenty cents 
a bushel for the plant food in it, which is almost 
all immediately available. In addition, wood 
ashes have an important indirect value, due to the 
lime they contain. The price paid for them, how- 
ever, should be based on their plant-food content 
only. In this case the potash in them costs a 
trifle more than that in the German salts; but the 
indirect benefit of wood ashes is often so marked 
that their great popularity as fertiliser is justified. 
When they can be bought at about the same price 
per pound of plant food, or a little more, as other 
potash fertilisers, prefer the ashes. 

Besides wood ashes, cotton-hull ashes are a 
valuable but limited source of potash; lime-kiln 
ashes usually contain less than 1^- per cent, of potash 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 385 

and 1 per cent, of phosphoric acid; coal ashes 
contain no plant food whatever but may benefit 
the soil by improving the texture. 

German Potash Salts. — Deposits of crude potash 
salts in Germany were discovered in 1859. Min- 
ing was begun in 18G2 and the product of the 
mines is now about 750,000 tons a year. The 
supply seems inexhaustible. Three kinds of Ger- 
man potash salts are commonly used in this country : 
kainit, muriate of potash, and sulphate of potash. 

Kainit is one of the crude salts, just as it comes 
from the mines. It contains about 12 per cent, of 
actual potash and 33 per cent, of common salt, 
together with other salts. This extremely large 
percentage of salty material makes kainit un- 
desirable for the heavier soils and for some crops; 
but it is beneficial to light soils, and to certain 
crops, as asparagus, that appreciate salt. Since 
it contains so low a per cent, of potash, a pound of 
potash in kainit costs more than a pound in the 
refined salts. For this reason it is rarely used 
except when its indirect benefit, because of its 
saltiness, is needed. Sylvinit, another crude salt, 
is very little used in this country. 

Muriate of Potash is used in the United States 
more than any other potash fertiliser. It is very 
highly concentrated, containing about 50 per cent, 
of actual potash. Potash in muriate at $40 per 
ton costs four cents a pound, which makes this the 
cheapest source of potash. 

There are two occasions when muriate of potash 
should not be used. Certain crops, notably to- 
bacco, sugar beets, onions, and potatoes, are quite 
noticeablj^ injured by the chlorine which this salt 
contains in large amounts. Again, if the soil is 
deficient in lime, heavy applications of muriate 



386 SOILS 

of potash will be likely to aggravate the trouble. 
If it is necessary to apply potash every year, alter- 
nate the muriate with the sulphate, or with wood 
ashes, and give the land an occasional dressing of 
lime. Never mix muriate of potash with sulphate 
of ammonia; the latter will lose part of its nitrogen. 
The muriate is especially valuable for the lighter 
soils, because it attracts moisture. 

Sulphate of Potash is bought in two forms, 
"high grade" and "low grade." The former con- 
tains 51 to 53 per cent, actual potash, which in 
this form costs four and one-half cents a pound at 
the current price of $45 a ton. High-grade sul- 
phate of potash can be used safely for all crops. 
Unlike the muriate it does not increase the loss of 
lime from the soil ; although the potash in it costs a 
trifle more than that in the muriate, the sulphate 
is generally preferable for this reason. It is 
especially preferable for tobacco, sugar beets, onions 
and potatoes. Low grade sulphate of potash con- 
tains about 26 per cent, of potash combined with 
magnesia, which has a beneficial effect on some 
soils. But the potash in it costs more than in 
other forms, so that it is not used much in this 
country. 

Many other materials are occasionally used as 
fertilisers, such as tobacco stems and stalks, wool 
and hair waste, seaweed, crude fish scrap, etc. 
The amounts of food in the most common of these 
are given in the Appendix. 

MIXING THE RAW MATERIALS 

If but one plant food is to be applied, the 
material is put upon the land as it comes from the 
dealers; if two or three are to be applied, the 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 387 

materials must be niixed. The mere mixing re- 
quires little skill, but it is very important to get the 
right proportions of the different plant foods in the 
mixture. We will suppose that excellent results 
have followed the use of 1,000 pounds per acre of 
a certain brand of fertiliser containing 4 per cent, 
of nitrogen, 8 per cent, of potash and 6 per cent, 
of phosphoric acid; but it is found that the plant 
food in this fertiliser costs more than it can be 
bought for in raw^ materials. This means that 
for each acre, a mixture containing 40 pounds of 
nitrogen, 60 pounds of potash, and 80 pounds of 
phosphoric acid is needed. By referring to the 
figures of the amounts of plant food in each fer- 
tilising material, we find that the 40 pounds of 
nitrogen may be obtained in 250 pounds of nitrate 
of soda, or 200 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, 
etc. The 60 pounds of potash may be obtained 
in 120 pounds of sulphate of potash, or in 114 
pounds of muriate of potash, etc. The 80 
pounds of phosphoric acid may be obtained in 
533 pounds of dissolved South Carolina rock, or 
in 250 pounds of Florida phosphate, etc. If 
sulphate of ammonia is found to be the cheapest 
source of nitrogen, sulphate of potash, of potash, 
and dissolved South Carolina rock, of phosphoric 
acid, the mixture would be: 

200 lbs. sulphate of ammonia 

120 lbs. sulphate of potash 

533 lbs. dissolved South Carolina rock 



853 lbs. for an acre; larger quantities in proportion. 

It often happens that some fertilising materials 
which can be bought to advantage contain more 
than one kind of plant food. Thus a good sample 



388 SOILS 

of unleached ashes should contain 8 per cent, of 
potash and 2 per cent, of phosphoric acid; in such 
a case each plant food should be figured out 
independently. If a fertiliser containing 10 per 
cent, of potash and 5 per cent, of phosphoric acid 
is needed, and ashes can be bought very reasonably, 
it will only be necessary to add to the ashes 
a sufficient quantity of muriate of potash, and of 
superphosphate, for example, to make a fertiliser 
having the desired analysis. 

The actual mixing of fertilisers is easily done. 
The right quantities of the several materials are 
dumped upon a tight, smooth floor and are shovelled 
over until thoroughly mixed. The mixture may 
then be put through a sieve. It is best to keep the 
several ingredients separate until a short time 
before the fertiliser is needed. Any fertiliser con- 
taining ammonia should not be mixed with lime, 
as lime attacks ammonia and nitrogen escapes. 
If highly concentrated fertilisers are mixed, as 
muriate of potash and bone ash, it is often de- 
sirable to add a quantity of some other material, 
not plant food, as dust, dry soil or land plaster. 
This gives the mixture greater bulk so that it can be 
distributed much more evenly, especially if light 
applications are to be made. The saving in buying 
raw materials and mixing them at home is often 
25 to 40 per cent, over the cost of the same amounts 
of plant food if bought in the average manufactured 
article. 

WHAT KINDS OF FERTILISER TO USE 

There are two great problems in using com- 
mercial fertilisers. The first is, "What kind and 
what amounts of plant food does my soil need.?" 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 389 

The second, "In what form can I buy each plant 
food cheapest?" 

What and how much fertiliser to apply as a 
fertiliser depends upon the deficiency of the soil, 
the needs of the crop, the system of farming, and 
kindred matters. 

Soil Analyses as a Guide to Fertilising. — If the 
crops are unsatisfactory, and this cannot be 
wholly explained by a poor texture of the soil, 
a deficiency of available plant food may be sus- 
pected. But what kind of plant food, and how 
much fertiliser will it pay to apply ? The first thing 
that many farmers do is to send a sample of the 
soil to a chemist to be analysed; for, they argue, 
if crops grow on plant food in the soil, surely an 
analysis of the soil should show just what it needs. 
But the chemical analysis of a soil rarely gives 
reliable information about the best way to fertilise 
it. The analysis of a certain soil may show that 
there are 5,000 pounds of phosphoric acid in the 
upper nine inches, but it does not and cannot show 
how much of this vast amount is soluble, or in 
such a form that plants can use it; this makes 
a great deal of difference, from the farmer's 
point of view. An analysis often points out 
glaring deficiencies and gives hints that may 
be valuable in fertilising a soil; but it is 
by no means a reliable guide, and it usually 
bears no relation to the method of fertilising 
which will be found most profitable on that 
soil. 

It is generally understood, however, that cer- 
tain types of soils have special needs. Clay and 
other heavy soils are usually rich in potash, but 
poor in phosphoric acid ; sandy soils, and all others 
deficient in humus, lack nitrogen; peat and muck 



890 SOILS 

soils need potash and phosphoric acid more than 
nitrogen, especially potash. 

Questionincj the Soil. — A good farmer will not 
long be satisfied to fertilise solely on hearsay evi- 
dence. He will observe the effects of different fer- 
tilisers on his own crops and, gradually learning the 
peculiar needs of his soil, will fertilise accordingly. 
It is not necessary to lay out an elaborate series 
of plot experiments with fertilisers in order 
to determine with considerable accuracy what 
fertiliser pays best on a certain soil. In many 
cases it is enough merely to test different fertilisers 
as a part of the regular farm practice; in other 
cases it will pay to lay out fertiliser plots. In 
either case, the testing should be done methodi- 
cally and the results should not be interpreted too 
hastily. 

A common way of testing fertilisers is to use 
different kinds indiscriminately, until one is found 
that answers the purpose. This hit-or-miss method 
is usually unsatisfactory. Another way is to 
apply each of the three plant foods separately 
and in combinations. This is an exact and 
reliable method. In these experiments it is cus- 
tomary to use nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash, 
and superphosphate as the sources of plant food, 
since these materials each contain but one kind 
of plant food. 

These fertilisers may be applied to different 
rows of plants, or to plots of the same size. Plots 
one rod wide and eight rods long, containing 
T7 of an acre, are a convenient size. The plots 
should be long and narrow, so as to cover 
inequalities of soil. If the land is sloping, run them 
up and down the slope. Make every condition 
in the several plots as nearly alike as possible:, 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 391 



except as to the kind of fertiliser applied. It is 
best to leave between plots a strip of land at least 
four feet wide, which is unfertilised; this prevents 
the fertiliser applied to one crop from affecting the 
crop in an adjoining plot. The full experiment 
would look like this: 



Plot 1 



Nitrate of Soda, 8 lbs 



Plot 2 



Acid Phosphate, 16 lbs. 



Plot 3 




I'l.OT 4 



Sulphate of Potash, 8 lbs. 



If it is desired to test the value of different com- 
binations of plant foods, add : 



Plot 5 



Nitrate of Soda, 8 lbs. 
Sulphate of Potash, 8 lbs. 



Plot 6 



Nitrate of Soda, 8 lbs. 
Sulphate of Potash, 8 lbs. 
Acid Phosphate, 16 lbs. 



Plot 7 



Nitrate of Soda, 8 lbs. 
Acid Phosphate, 16 lbs. 



Plot 8 



Stable Manure 



Plot 9 



Sulphate of Potash, 81 bs. 
Acid Phosphate, 16 lbs. 



Plot 10 




392 SOILS 

The fertiliser should be applied broadcast and 
harrowed in lengthwise, not crosswise, of the plots. 
The amount used should be somewhat larger than 
in the field at large; if the plot is aV of an acre 
satisfactory amounts are 8 pounds of nitrate of 
soda, 8 pounds of sulphate of potash and 16 
pounds of superphosphate. The fertiliser may 
be mixed with dry soil or sand in order to dis- 
tribute it more evenly. Throughout the season 
give all plots the same care. 

In comparing the crops grown under the dif- 
ferent methods of fertilising it is well to take only 
the inside rows of each plot, if no unfertilised strips 
have been left between plots, because the outside 
rows may have been affected by the fertilising of 
the adjacent plots. The yields of the several plots 
may be measured for comparison. Such a test as 
this, even though not carried out in every detail, 
gives valuable results to the man who is obliged to 
use commercial fertilisers. It is well to repeat the 
experiment two or three years and upon the same 
land if possible. 

The Needs oj Different Crops. — The chemical 
analysis of a crop is of very little practical value to 
the man who wishes to know what fertiliser to 
apply to that crop. The proposition looks plaus- 
ible, however. The chemist tells the cotton farmer 
that the crop of cotton plants which produce 190 
pounds of lint per acre draws an average of 40 
pounds of nitrogen, 16 pounds of phosphoric acid 
and 25 pounds of potash from the soil. The farmer 
will then apply these amounts of the plant food each 
year, but adding a little more, because probably 
part of it does not reach the crop. 

But the chemical analysis of a crop is no more 
reliable as a guide to fertilising that crop than the 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 393 

chemical analysis of a soil. Both are useful hints, 
and may point out striking needs or deficiencies, 
but other factors are much more important. An 
experiment at the New York State Experiment 
Station, for example, showed that a fertiliser con- 
taining nearly the proportions of plant food used 
by the potato plant was much less useful than one 
containing very different proportions, based on 
the experience of observing growers. An abun- 
dance of phosphoric acid in the soil contributes 
more to the profitable growth of the cotton crop 
than either of the other plant foods; yet an analy- 
sis of the cotton plant shows that it contains less 
phosphoric acid than either nitrogen or potash. 
The needs of the soil and the needs of the crop 
cannot be studied separately and independently 
with any degree of satisfaction ; they are coordinate 
and complementary. 

Crops do differ, however, in their demands upon 
the soil. A knowledge of the special needs should 
be helpful to the man who does not have the 
results of a home fertiliser test to guide him. A few 
general suggestions follow: 

The small grains — wheat, rye, oats, and barley, 
are especially benefited by an abundance of nitro- 
gen and of phosphoric acid. The latter is espe- 
cially needed in the development of grains. 

Indian corn, a very exhaustive crop, is more apt 
to need applications of the mineral plant foods 
especially phosphoric acid, than of nitrogen. 

Forage crops, including the grasses and grains 
grown for forage, but not clovers, are most apt to 
need nitrogen. 

The clovers, including all legumes, need potash 
and phosphoric acid, but not nitrogen; they also 
draw heavily on lime. 



394 SOILS 

Root and tuber crops are more variable in their 
demands. Potash should be the most important 
ingredient of a fertiliser for sweet and Irish pota- 
toes — the sulphate is preferred to the muriate; 
phosphoric acid for turnips and nitrogen for beets 
and carrots. Root crops need quick-acting fertiliser. 

Fruits. — The period of growth of tree fruits is 
extended over a longer time than other farm crops, 
and so slow-acting fertilisers may be used upon 
them to advantage. The small fruits, however, 
as strawberries and raspberries, must have quick- 
acting fertilisers. Potash is of special importance 
in a fruit fertiliser. 

Market-garden crops in which the chief object 
is to secure the crispness and tenderness that comes 
from a rapid growth, as celery, radishes, cabbage, 
lettuce, etc., must have an abundance of quick- 
acting fertiliser, particularly of nitrogen. 

Cotton especially enjoys an abundance of phos- 
phoric acid. 

These general suggestions on the fertilising of 
different crops merely indicate what many people 
have found profitable. They are subject to many 
exceptions, depending upon the kind of soil on 
which the crop is grown. So it all comes back to 
the elemental problem of questioning the soil. 
This will ever be an experiment for each farmer; 
no one else can perform it for him. 

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE 
THREE PLANT FOODS 

Phosphoric acid is regarded by many as the 
most important of the three plant foods; not be- 
cause it is more essential to the profitable growth 
of crops, but because it is more likely to be lacking 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 395 

in ordinary soils than either potash or nitrogen; 
and, furthermore, because the commercial supply 
of phosphoric acid is apparently more limited than 
that of the other two plant foods. In most cases 
the supply of nitrogen may be maintained without 
difficulty with barn manure and green-manuring. 
Potash is found more in the straw than in the grain ; 
the grain, which is rich in phosphoric acid, is 
commonly shipped away from the farm while the 
straw remains. From the point of view of the 
future supply, then, phosphoric acid is the most 
important of the three plant foods. 

From the point of view of the plant, however, 
one food is as important as another. Plant foods 
are often spoken of as though each one performed 
certain definite functions ; as " Potash makes fruit, " 
"Nitrogen makes stem and leaf growth," and 
"Phosphoric acid fills out the grain." Undoubt- 
edly each of the three plant foods does exert a 
special influence in one of these several directions, 
but all are essential to the well-being of the plant. 
"Fertilising for fruit" or "fertilising for grain" or 
"fertilising for growth" is apt to be one-sided and 
unsatisfactory fertilising. The plant as a whole 
is the unit; fertilise to make a symmetrical, well- 
developed plant; not for an abnormal develop- 
ment of any part. 

WHEN TO APPLY COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 

This depends first of all upon the solubility of 
the fertiliser. One would not apply nitrate of 
soda, which dissolves almost immediately in soil 
water, in the fall ; much of the nitrogen in it would 
be leached from the soil by spring. But one might 
apply raw bone meal in the fall, because this 



396 SOILS 

becomes available quite slowly. The more soluble 
a fertiliser is, the more necessary it is to apply it at 
or about the time it will be needed most by the 
crop. 

As a class, the nitrogen fertilisers are more 
quickly soluble and more apt to be lost by leaching 
than the other plant foods; they should usually 
be applied in the spring or during the summer, as 
needed. The potash and phosphoric acid in 
fertilisers are not subject to serious waste; they 
remain in the soil until taken out by plants, com- 
bining with lime, silica and other minerals in the 
soil. This is called the "fixing" of these plant 
foods. It usually takes place within a week after 
the fertiliser is applied. With the exception, in 
some cases, of raw bone and raw mineral phos- 
phates, it is best to apply fertilisers in the spring. 

The special needs of crops also influence the 
time for applying fertilisers. Many crops need 
a special stimulus at certain times and under cer- 
tain conditions. Thus, if wheat on light land has 
passed through a severe winter it may need an 
application of nitrogen in the spring, in addition 
to the regular fertiliser provided for it the fall pre- 
vious. Or again, beets that are being forced for 
bunching will profit by several light dressings |of 
nitrogen at intervals of two weeks, instead of put- 
ting all the fertiliser into the ground at planting 
time. 

HOW TO APPLY FERTILISERS 

The method of applying fertiliser is mostly a 
matter of expediency. In a majority of cases it is 
best to broadcast it over the entire surface after 
plowing and before the last harrowing. Most of 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 397 

the common fertilisers suffer no loss if left on the 
surface, but it is generally considered best to work 
all fertilisers into the soil, because this mixing 
brings the plant food within reach of the roots 
more quickly. There are some fertiliser distrib- 
utors on the market that do the work cheaper 
than it can be done by hand; fertilisers may also 
be drilled in. 

Whether part or all of the fertiliser should be 
put into the hill or drill depends upon the soil and 
the crop. Nothing is lost by broadcasting it, for 
the roots of the crop will lay every foot of soil under 
tribute ; but an early start may be gained by putting 
part of the fertiliser in the hill or drill, if it is quickly 
available. This is especially profitable on light 
and poor soils, particularly if but little fertiliser 
is used; and for market garden crops, as earliness 
counts for more with them than with general farm 
crops. In any case only a part of the fertiliser 
should be put in the hill or drill ; most of it should 
be broadcasted. With grains, however, all the 
fertiliser may be drilled in. Fertilisers used on 
hoed crops that are growing should be cultivated 
in between the rows. A nitrogen fertiliser ap- 
plied after the crop has started should not be put 
on when the leaves are wet; if much of the fer- 
tiliser sticks to the leaves, injury may follow. 

The amount of fertiliser to apply depends upon 
the kind of soil, the value of the land, the kind of 
crop, the market value of the crop, the amount of 
manure available, whether green-manuring has 
been practised, the system of farming, and many 
other factors. No general statement can be made 
that is of any value. Perhaps a general average 
for staple crops on the poorer soils of the Eastern 
States is 20 pounds of nitrogen, 80 pounds of 



398 SOILS 

potash, and 100 pounds of available phosphoric 
acid. Be especially chary in the application of 
nitrogen. One hundred pounds per acre of nitrate 
of soda is usually sufficient if used alone. If used 
with the mineral plant foods, this application may 
be doubled or trebled. 

WHEN IT WILL PAY TO USE FERTILISERS 

This depends not only upon the condition and 
needs of the soil, but also upon the money value of 
the crop and the value of the land. The higher 
the value of the land or the crop the more will it 
pay to fertilise liberally, in order to secure maximum 
yields which will pay interest on the large amount 
of capital invested. The largest use of commercial 
fertilisers is made in market gardens and in 
special crop farming, as the growing of onions, 
tobacco, and fruit. It might pay to use a ton of 
commercial fertiliser on an acre of garden vege- 
tables on Long Island when it might not pay to use 
500 pounds on an acre of wheat in Ohio, although 
both soils were equally in need of fertilising. It 
is a question of economics as well as of crop 
culture. 

It depends also upon the thoroughness of the 
farming; a good farmer, especially one who tills 
the soil thoroughly and keeps it in good texture by 
the use of green manures and animal manures, 
makes the use of commercial fertilisers pay, but a 
poor farmer does not. The physical condition of 
the soil — which the farmer can largely control and 
modify — has more to do with the profit in using 
them than any other factor. Many farmers are 
not securing the profit from fertilisers that 
they might if their soil was in better texture. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 399 

Fertilisers are so easy to get and easy to apply, 
that there is a tendency to use them hastily, 
without regard to their content and the needs of 
the soil ; and to use them in much larger quantities 
than is really necessary. The rational course to 
pursue is to use them only to supplement farm re- 
sources of fertility; and to use them only up to the 
point where they return the largest ratio of profit 
for the expenditure. 

Certain materials that furnish little if any actual 
plant food, but exert a very beneficial effect upon 
the soil , are called ' ' indirect fertilisers " or " amend- 
ments." The most common of these are lime 
and land plaster and, to a very slight extent, salt. 

THE BENEFITS OF LIMING 

Lime is an important factor in maintaining the 
fertility of certain farm soils. It is a plant food. 
If a soil contained no lime, plants would not 
thrive upon it. Although most soils contain 
sufficient lime for the needs of the crop, some soils 
become exhausted of it and it is then needed not as 
an indirect, but as a direct, fertiliser. 

Lime may benefit certain soils by improving 
their texture. When applied to a light, leacliy 
soil, it makes it more retentive. When applied to 
a clay, it has the opposite effect; the very fine soil 
grains are cemented together and consequently 
the soil is made more porous. The practical 
effect is that liming a sandy soil makes it less 
leachy, while liming a stiff clay makes it more 
crumbly; the condition of both is greatly improved. 

A third effect of applying lime to a soil that is 
deficient in it, is that it makes the plant food in 
the soil, especially the potash, more soluble. 



400 SOILS 

Much of the potash in our soils is insoluble, being 
"locked up" in compounds with silica. Lime 
attacks the silica and sets free the potash. It also 
prevents the loss of soluble phosphoric acid in the 
soil The practical effect of this is that liming may 
be equivalent to fertilising, for a time. But since 
lime supplies no potash, phosphoric acid, or nitro- 
gen, the soil is eventually made less productive. 
This is the basis for the old adage, "Liming makes 
the father rich and the son poor." 

The most important function of lime in modern 
agriculture is to sweeten sour soils. A soil that 
contains free acid is "sour," or acid. Such soils, 
though they may be rich in plant food, usually 
produce inferior crops ; but if this acid is neutralised 
by adding lime, they become productive. There 
are thousands of acres of sour soils in the United 
States, notably in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Illinois, 
Maryland, Virginia, and Alabama. The applica- 
tion of lime to such soils may do more to make them 
productive than the use of large amounts of com- 
mercial fertilisers. 

THE SOILS THAT NEED LIMING 

Contrary to the popular notion, soils containing 
a large amount of humus are not more likely to be 
sour than upland soils. Soils are sour because the 
rocks from which they were formed were deficient 
in lime. Sour soils are very apt to have an abun- 
dance of sorrel or "sourgrass." When this plant 
comes into the field and crowds out other plants, it 
is a fairly reliable indication that lime is needed, 
although sorrel often grows well on sweet soils. 

Practically all farm crops, except watermelon. 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 401 

Hungarian grass, red-top, blackberries, and the 
lupines, do poorly on a sour soil; these seem to 
prefer it. Indian corn and rye stand it much 
better than the other cereals. Clover, alfalfa, 
beets, and timothy are almost sure to fail on sour 
soils. 

TESTS FOR SOUR SOILS 

A simple and fairly reliable method of deter- 
mining whether a soil is sour, is to test it with blue 
litmus paper. This can be bought at a drug- 
store for a few cents. Get several samples of 
moist soil from different parts of the field, mix them 
into a paste with water, and insert one end of the 
litmus. At the end of an hour, if the blue paper 
has turned red where it came in contact with the 
paste, probably the soil is sour. 

The litmus test will usually show with con- 
siderable accuracy whether a soil is badly in need of 
lime, but soils which are not actually sour may need 
it. The best way is to apply lime to a strip 
of soil and compare the growth of crops on this 
strip with their growth on unlimed parts of the 
field. In the fertiliser test previously described, 
use about 200 pounds of lime on the 2^17-acre plot. 

HOW TO SWEETEN SOUR SOILS 

A sour soil should be limed at the rate of 1,000 
to 4,000 pounds per acre; two tons per acre is 
about the maximum of application. The lime 
should be applied broadcast in late fall or early 
spring. The best form of lime to use is the water- 
slaked. Put stone lime in heaps on the ground 
and cover it with moist soil. In a few days the 



402 SOILS 

lime will be found powdered and may then be 
spread. If air-slaked lime is used, the applications 
should be heavier. If lime is used in seeding to 
grass, apply it ten to fourteen days before seeding, 
if possible. It is not usually necessary to lime 
soils oftener than once in four or five years. 

OTHER AMENDMENTS 

Land plaster, or gypsum, which is sulphate of 
lime, has about the same effect upon the soil as 
common lime. Gypsum was formerly used very 
largely, especially on clover, Indian corn, and pota- 
toes. It has been observed to increase the yield 
of clover 20 to 30 per cent. ; but after a number of 
years, this benefit is no longer obtained. Its 
beneficial effect is due largely to the fact that it 
makes the potash in the soil more soluble, thus 
causing an increase in the crop. Land plaster is 
not now used to any extent except as it occurs as 
a part of acid phosphate, but in this case it has no 
value for sweetening the soil. It can be used to 
great advantage, however, on the floors of cow and 
horse stables and the roosts of hen houses to pre- 
vent the escape of ammonia. It is also useful, in 
some cases, for treating alkali soils. 

Wood ashes are about 35 per cent, lime, and im- 
prove the soil in all the ways that lime does. Part 
of the excellent results commonly secured from 
the use of wood ashes is due to the value of the 
ashes for correcting acidity and setting free plant 
food. 

Marl, which is chiefly fossil shells, contains 
much carbonate of lime and is valuable for dressing 
land that needs lime. Large areas of land in New 
Jersey that were formerly unproductive have been 



COMMERCIAL FERTILISERS 403 

made productive by applications of marl. It 
improves the texture of the soil, sets free plant 
food and corrects acidity, the same as lime. If 
a deposit of it is handy, it is certainly worth using. 
Salt was once used considerably as a fertiliser, 
especially on asparagus. It makes the soil more 
moist and assists decay, but its agricultural value 
is not equal to its cost, which is $4 to $6 per ton. 
The potash salt, kainit, is one-third common salt. 
If salt is needed, buy it in this form, because the 
price of kainit is based solely upon the amount of 
potash in it. 



APPENDIX 



I. ROTATIONS PRACTISED IN DIFFERENT STATES 

The following remarks on the crop rotations practised in or recommended 
for the different states are a summary of correspondence between the author 
and the various authorities quoted. 

ALABAMA 

In the cotton states the majority of farmers pay little attention to rotations. 
Where small grains are grown the following rotation is reconomended: 
First year, corn, with cowpeas planted in May or June between the corn rows. 
Second year, fall-sown oats or wheat, followed by cowpeas in June. Third 
year, cotton. The cowpeas after the crop of small grains are usually cut 
for hay, but may be picked for seed or may be pastured or plowed under in 
January or February. This can be lengthened into a four-year rotation, in 
order to put one-half of the arable land of the farm into cotton, by adding 
cotton as the crop of the fourth year. 

Director, Alabama Experiment Station. J. F. Duqgar. 

ARIZONA 

Our soils are still so new to cultivation and so fertile that the need of 
rotations has not yet been felt. The deficient elements of our soils are nitro- 
gen and humus. At present, and doubtless largely in the future, these are 
supplied by alfalfa. 

Agriculturist, Arizona Agr. Experiment Station. V. A. Clark. 

ARKANSAS 

Arkansas is both a cotton and fruit state. Land along the rivers is culti- 
vated in corn and cotton without reference to rotation. Throughout the 
state cowpeas grow well and are usually sown after oats and wheat are har- 
vested, also in the cornfields. Rye is used only for winter pasture. In the 
orchard belt the usual rotation is corn, wheat, cowpeas; or corn, oats, clover. 
The rotation of stock farmers is corn (summer), rye (winter), cowpeas or 
sorghum (forage), wheat (winter and spring). The weak point in the agri- 
culture of this state is the lack of diversified crops. 

Professor of Agriculture, University of Arkansas. Geo. A. Cole. 

CALIFORNIA 

The course of California agriculture hitherto has been to avoid rotation 
and to keep the land producing that to which it seems adapted, and for 
which profitable prices could be had, for an indefinite period. Recently 

405 



406 APPENDIX 

the desirability of rotation has become more apparent, especially in connection 
with sugar beet growing. Our rotations probably will never be like those 
in the East because it is only occasionally that a certain piece of land is suited 
to the growth of three different grains. California must devise rotations 
of her own, as her agriculture advances, and the question will be quite as 
much what crop wiU succeed at all, as what crop will be best for the land. 
Professor of Agriculture, University of California. E. J. Wickson. 

COLORADO 

Under ditch the principal rotation is alfalfa for several years, beets or 
potatoes, followed by grain and again seeding to alfalfa. The tendency is 
to grow beets several seasons on the same ground on account of the high 
profit of the crop, but they should be grown only one to two years. Where 
potatoes are grown the same is true. In the San Luis Valley, where 50,000 
acres of peas are grown annually, the rotation is peas, potatoes, grain. The 
regions outside of both potatoes and beets have no definite rotation. We 
have under experiment a rotation of alfalfa two years, roots one year, grain 
one year. 

Professor of Agronomy, Colorado State Agr. College. W. H. Olin. 

CONNECTICUT 

No regular rotation is practised. One of our principal industries is dairy- 
ing and we must grow large quantities of corn for silo. On fields where corn 
can be grown with greatest economy it is often the practice to grow com 
year after year, using stable manures and commercial fertiliser to maintain 
the productive power of the soil. A rotation I have found well adapted to 
our conditions is: First year, corn; second year, potatoes; third year, rye; 
fourth year, meadow. The rye is put on in the fall after the potatoes are 
removed, and the grass seeding put on with the lye. Where potatoes are 
not desired, we sometimes break up the sod and grow corn two years in 
succession; then seed down either with rye or use grass and clover seeds 
alone. 

Director, Storrs Agr. Experiment Station. L. A. Clinton. 

DELAWARE 

On most of the soils of Delaware devoted to grain farming, the most 
common rotation, and probably the best, is corn seeded to wheat the same 
fall; the wheat cut in Jime, the stubble clover and weeds cut once or twfce 
with mowing machine and allowed to fall to the ground; clover, or clover and 
timothy the next June followed by a second crop of hay; or, more usually, 
the field is turned out to pasture for the remainder of the year. In other 
words, a three-year rotation of corn, wheat and clover. Sometimes the field 
is pastured the second season, making a four-year rotation of corn, wheat, 
clover, pasture. This rotation in itself is not so good as the three-year 
rotation, but it means more live stock and, therefore, more forage and grain 
fed on the farm and consequently more manure. A few farmers get a good 
crop of corn fully matured every fall following a good crop of crimson clover 
hay from the same land. 

Sec. of Delaware State Board of Agriculture. Wesley Webb. 



APPENDIX 407 

FLORIDA 

There is little or no systematic rotation practised. In the northern part 
of the state, where corn and cotton are grown, they follow corn with cotton 
and sow cowpeas in the com, or a row of peanuts between the rows of corn. 
Farther south where velvet beans are grown and used for fattening cattle 
a rotation is: corn the first year, velvet beans the second year, and the velvet 
beans are pastured off during winter and the ground is again put in corn. 
In the vegetable section of the state, no rotation is practised unless it is 
forced by plant diseases which can be killed only by rotation. 

Professor of Agriculture, University of Florida. Chas. M. Conner. 

IDAHO 

There is little systematic rotation of crops here. A few farmers rotate 
grain with such crops as corn, potatoes, and beans. In some irrigated 
sections grain is rotated with sugar beets. In older irrigated sections an 
effort is being made now to rotate grain with alfalfa. Our practice at the 
Station is a five-year rotation: Two years of grass, one of corn, one of wheat, 
and one of oats or barley. 

Director, Idaho Agr. Experiment Station. H. T. French. 

ILLINOIS 

Some crop rotations which are being practised to some extent in this state 
are: 

THREE-YEAR ROTATION 

First year, wheat, followed by cowpeas or soy beans as catch crop; second 
year, corn, with cowpeas or soy beans as catch crop; third year, cowpeas 
or soy beans (to be followed by wheat). All crops except the wheat should 
be fed or pastured or used as bedding and all manure returned to the land. 
If the corn crop is cut and shocked, then a three-year rotation of com, wheat, 
and clover is a good one. 

FOUR-YEAR ROTATION 

First year, com, with cowpeas or soy beans as catch crop; second year, cow- 
peas or soy beans ; third year, wheat (with clover to be seeded in spring) ; 
fourth year, clover. 

If well filled, the second crop of clover should be harvested for seed. All 
other crops, excepting wheat and possibly cowpea or soy bean seed, should 
be fed and the manure returned to the land. 

FIVE-YEAR ROTATION 

This may be the same as the four-year rotation except that timothy may 
be seeded with clover and the land pastured the fifth year. 

Professor of Agronomy, University of Illinois. C G. Hopkins. 

INDIANA 

Com is our principal crop practically all over the state, and forms the basis 
of every rotation, as it is generally desired to bring in com as often as possible. 
The prevailing rotation, whenever any system is followed, is the three-course — 



408 APPENDIX 

corn, wheat or oats, clover. The four-course — corn, oats, wheat, clover, is 
more or less used in central Indiana; also corn, wheat or oats, clover and 
grass two years. In southern Indiana we sometimes find a two-course — 
wheat and clover rotation. For general purposes we consider the three- 
course rotation best. Most of our farmers claim that they can get a better 
stand of clover in wheat than in oats. Occasionally we find a four-course 
rotation, consisting of corn, corn, small grain, clover. 

Agriculturist, Indiana Agr. Experiment Station. A. T. Wiancko. 



IOWA 

Com is the "money-crop" of Iowa and it is desired to raise as many crops 
of corn as possible. Clover has thus far been found the most satisfactory 
leguminous crop for a rotation in this state. In the southern part of the 
state a common rotation is corn two years; wheat one year; clover one year. 
This may be extended into a five-year rotation by allowing the land to remain 
in clover and timothy for two years. Another rotation, practised less 
extensively, is corn one or two years; oats one year; wheat one year; clover 
and timothy, one or two years. In the northern portion of Iowa, where 
winter wheat has not been as successfully grown, the rotation most extensively 
practised is corn two years; oats one year; clover one year. In many cases 
it is necessary to sow a catch crop of cowpeas in order to include a leguminous 
crop in this rotation. Winter wheat is superior to oats as a nurse crop for 
clover, and is being included in rotations wherever it can be successfully 
grown. 

Iowa State College, Dept. of Agr. Extension. A. H. Snyder. 

KANSAS 

Less than 10 per cent., and perhaps less than 5 per cent., of Kansas farmers 
practise rotation of crops. The three main crops are corn, wheat and 
alfalfa. Many fields can be found in some sections upon which wheat has 
been grown almost continuously from twenty to thirty years. The same 
may be said of corn-growing, especially in the eastern part of the state. 
Alfalfa is often left on the fields for many years. The size of the farms 
is such that the farmers must resort largely to wheat culture, as it would be 
impossible to farm them thoroughly with several crops with the small amount 
of help. In most of the wheat sections the farmers grow some corn, kaffir 
com or sorghmn, but do not have any definite rotation. Two rotations we 
are suggesting are: (1) Alfalfa, four years; corn, two years; wheat, one year; 
and alternating two years of corn with one of wheat for nine years more 
before seeding again to alfalfa. (2) Grasses and clover, three years; com, 
two years; spring grain, one year; wheat with catch crops, one year, repeating 
the latter three twice before seeding to grass and clover in wheat. 

Professor of Agronomy, Kansas Agr. College. A. M. Ten Etck. 

KENTUCKY 

There is no very generally adopted rotation, but as the farmers imderstand 
the importance of getting humus in the soil, and of using clover or some 
related plant in order to increase the nitrogen, they generally employ for 



APPENDIX 409 

these purposes, bluegrass, timothy, red clover, cowpeas and soy beans. 
The cultivated crops alternating with these are hemp, tobacco, corn and 
wheat. 
Botanist, Kentucky Agr. Experiment Station. H. G. Garman. 

LOUISIANA 

Many sugar planters plant corn and cowpeas after harvesting the last crop 
of stubble cane, growing a crop of com and cowpeas one year in three or 
one year in four. The rice land is sown for two, or sometimes three years, then 
devoted to cotton or allowed to grow weeds and grass, and then put in rice 
again. On the prairies of southwestern Louisiana many fields have been 
devoted to rice for twelve or fourteen years in succession. On a majority 
of the larger plantations cotton is grown continuously year after year. Corn 
is practicallj' the only other crop grown so there is little rotation. On the 
alluvial lands, one year in four or five cotton land is put into corn and cow- 
peas. In the hill lands a few plant grain or cotton, two years; then corn and 
cowpeas one year; and sometimes a crop of oats, followed by a crop of cow- 
peas. A very desirable rotation is oats, cotton and corn, with cowpeas 
between. The oats are harvested in May and the land put in cowpeas. 
These are harvested in September or October and the land is fall-plowed 
and the following year planted in cotton. The cotton is followed with com, 
and cowpeas sown in the corn at the last plowing. The corn is gathered 
in September or early October and the land is plowed and sown to oats. 
With the addition of a reasonable amount of acid phosphate this builds 
up the land very perceptibly. 

Director, Louisiana Agr. Experiment Station. W. R. Dodson. 



MAINE 

In many sections of the state no systematic rotation is practised. We 
have many " patchy farms " ; a man will go to the middle of the field, or to one 
side, and plow a small area and on this plant any crop. In Aroostook County 
a three-course rotation, consisting of potatoes, oats or wheat, and clover, 
is followed. On the college farm, we are practising a four or five-year 
rotation, potatoes, com, oats, seeding with the oats to grass, and clover, 
and allowing the land to remain in grass one or two years. This rotation 
is frequently followed in dairy sections. 

Professor of Agronomy, University of Maine. Wm. D. Hxtrd. 



MARYLAND 

The principal crop rotations practised in this state are: Southern Maryland 
(Tobacco section), (1) tobacco, wheat, red clover; (2) tobacco ,wheat, red- 
top and red clover. Central and eastern Maryland (dairy farming and 
grain and hay crops), (3) com, wheat, timothy and clover, timothy; (4) 
corn, winter barley, timothy and clover, timothy; western Maryland (beef- 
cattle and grain farming), (5) corn, wheat, clover; (6) corn, oats, wheat, timothy 
and clover, timothy. 

Director, Maryland Agr. Experiment Station. H. J. Pattebson. 



410 APPENDIX 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Massachusetts farming is largely devoted to specialties. Fertilisers or 
manures or both are used very freely and there is less dependence upon rota- 
tions than in many other states. Some of the most important money-crops, 
especially onions and tobacco, are grown year after year on the same land. 
In some parts of the state a four-course rotation, (1) turnips, barley, clover 
and oats, is practised, most of the manure being applied to the com, not to 
the grass. In parts of the state where dairying is prominent and where 
the potato is a money-crop, a common rotation is (2) potatoes, one year; 
corn, two years (the second for ensilage); grass and clover three years. 
There are several modifications of this rotation. On our light soils the follow- 
ing three rotations are common: (3) Potatoes, winter rye, clover; (4) corn, 
potatoes, rye, clover; (5) corn, potatoes, rye, grass and clover two years. 
Succession cropping is practised with much skiU and success by our market 
gardeners. 

Director, Massachusetts Agr. Experiment Station. W. P. Brooks. 

MICHIGAN 

A rotation valued at the college is corn, wheat, oats or barley, clover or 
clover and timothy, pasture. In most cases we spread manures upon pasture. 
We seed always with a grain crop. In Wexford County the following rotation 
is used successfully: Clover, potatoes, wheat; seeding to clover with the 
wheat. Many farmers believe that it is not possible to secure a good stand 
of clover or clover and timothy with oats, and therefore grow wheat or barley. 

Professor of Agronomy, Michigan Agr. College. Joa. A. Jeffeby. 

MISSISSIPPI 

As a rule our farmers do not practise crop rotation. Our best rotation 
for the general cotton farmer is: Fall oats, followed by cowpeas; cotton; 
corn, laid by in cowpeas. The above rotation has for i*s principal object 
the maintenance of soil fertility. 

Professor of Agriculture, Mississippi Agr. College. E. R. Llotd. 

MISSOURI 

Missouri fanners are just beginning to rotate crops. In north Missouri 
and part of Missouri the common rotation has been corn for several 
years, then grass for a few years and back into corn. In the wheat-growing 
section it has been mostly wheat for several years, then into grass, and back 
again into wheat; although some of the farmers have practised a rotation 
of (1) corn, wheat and clover, or clover and timothy. A rotation used in 
north Missouri is (2) corn, oats, clover or clover and timothy. Farmers 
are beginning to sow cowpeas to some extent, using (3) corn, cowpeas, wheat, 
or (4) com, cowpeas, wheat, clover; or in some cases simply wheat and 
cowpeas. In southeast Missouri some farmers harvest wheat, turn the 
land quickly and put in cowpeas, harvest the cowpeas for seed or hay and 

Eut the land back into wheat in the fall. Some farmers in northeast Missouri 
ave a rotation of (5) corn, oats, wheat, clover, in some cases following the 
clover with timothy. 

Professor of Agronomy, University of Missouri. M. F. Milleb. 



APPENDIX 411 

MONTANA 

But one rotation is followed to any great extent — two years in clover and 
two years in grain; wheat or oats being usually grown after the second crop 
of clover, and oats or'barley the succeeding year. On dry bench lands above 
the irrigation ditch a common practice is to summer-fallow one year followed 
by a grain crop the next. On the watered land, in some sections, summer- 
fallow is followed by two or three grain crops. In a few instances, peas are 
followed by two crops of grain. Sometimes this is made peas, potatoes and 
grain two years. Some are planning the following rotation: Alfalfa, four 
or five years; wheat, sugar beets, or other cultivated crops, two years; then 
one or two seasons of grain. 

Director, Montana Agr. Experiment Station. F. B. Linfield. 

NEBRASKA 

Crop rotation is not carried out systematically by many Nebraska farmers. 
Corn is the main crop throughout the eastern third of the state; frequently 
it is grown continuously on the same field. Recently farmers have begun 
to realise the necessity for some change on account of the corn root-worm 
and other difficulties, and it is now quite common to alternate com with 
oats. Where anything like a systematic rotation is attempted it generally 
consists of corn for perhaps two years, followed by oats put in on the corn 
stubble without plowing, followed by winter wheat drilled in on the plowed 
oat stubble. In the central part of the state, corn and wheat are alternated 
by drilling in wheat between the corn rows. In the extreme western part 
of the state the occasional complete failure of crops takes the place of a rotation 
so far as its effect on the land is concerned. A rotation at the Nebraska 
Experiment Station consists of corn two years, oats, wheat, alfalfa, or mixed 
grasses. If seeded down it is left for four years. 

Professor of Agriculture, University of Nebraska. T. L. Lyon. 

NEVADA 

There is no prevailing crop rotation in this state. More often than other- 
wise two crops of grain follow alfalfa. Potatoes usually follow alfalfa and 
are followed by grain. The length of time that land is kept in alfalfa de- 
pends largely upon the stand. It is seldom less than four years. Some 
alfalfa fields in the state are twenty years old. 

Professor of Agriculture, Nevada State University. Gordon H. True. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

There are only a few farms which contain arable land in large enough 
fields to practise a definite system of rotation. The fields on many farms 
remain in grass for twenty-five years, or even longer. The fields on which 
the sod is poorest are plowed in late summer and either seeded down again 
at once to grass or planted to corn or potatoes for a year or two, and then 
seeded to grass. Perhaps the following is the most common rotation: 
Com; potatoes; oats, or oats and peas; clover; clover and timothy; timothy. 
Prof. J. W. Sanborn practises the following eight-year rotation on his 



412 APPENDIX 

upland farm: Corn (for husking and ensilage); oats and peas; clover; 
potatoes; Hungarian; timothy; timothy; pasture. 
Professor of Agriculture, New Hampshire College. T. W. Taylor. 

NEW JERSEY 

We have a large number of rotations because of the many crops grown. 
In general farming the rotations are about as follows: (1) Corn, oats, wheat, 
clover; (2) corn, oats, wheat, clover and timothy mixed, timothy; (3) com, 
wheat or rye, clover. In dairy, potato and market garden sections the 
rotations are: (1) Corn, oats and peas and cowpeas, rye or wheat, clover; 
(2) corn, wheat, potatoes, clover or timothy or mixed; (3) corn, potatoes, 
hay; (4) corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, clover. This is 
not a regular rotation, but these are used as conditions seem to warrant. 

Director, New Jersey Agr. Experiment Station. E. B. Voobhees. 

NEW MEXICO 

But little crop rotation is practised in this territory. Alfalfa, in most 
cases, is grown continuously on the same land. There is but one arrangement 
of crops that can be classed as a rotation, that is wheat and corn, which 
are usually grown in alternation. 

Assistant in Irrigation, New Mexico 

College of Agriculture. A. C. Maktenbowee. 

NEW YORK 

One of the best rotations where wheat is grown is : Clover, corn or potatoes, 
oats or barley, wheat with seeding. In this case the hay is usually harvested 
but one season. A rotation more generally used in the southern tier of 
counties where wheat is not grown is : Clover and timothy, two or more years, 
corn or potatoes, oats with seeding. A rotation considerably used in the 
northwestern part of the state where buckwheat is much grown, is: Buck- 
wheat, oats with seeding, meadow as long as the yield is satisfactory, then 
buckwheat again. It is generally recognised that buckwheat has peculiar 
value for mellowing heavy soils. Advantage is sometimes taken of this 
to improve such soils for potato growing. The meadow is cut, the land 
immediately plowed and sown to buckwheat. This is followed by potatoes, 
then oats with seeding. There are a large number of other rotations found 
on different farms. 

Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Cornell University. J. L. Stone. 

NORTH CAROLINA 

We have found the following a very good three-year rotation for a cotton 
farmer: First year, (a) wheat, oats, or rye, followed by cowpeas, (6) cotton 
followed by rye, (c) corn with cowpeas; second year, (a) cotton followed by 
rye, (b) corn with cowpeas, (c) wheat, oats, or rye, followed by cowpeas; 
third year, (a) corn with cowpeas, (b) wheat, oats, or rye followed by 
cowpeas, (c) cotton followed by rye. 

The peas are sown after the small grain crops and harvested; the rye in 
the cotton and the cowpeas in the corn are sown at the last cultivation. 



APPENDIX 413 

A good four-year rotation for a tobacco farmer is : First year, clover, com, 
tobacco, wheat; second year, corn, tobacco, wheat, clover; third year, 
tobacco, wheat, clover, corn; fourth year, wheat, clover, corn, tobacco. 

Ad excellent rotation for corn on the fine, sandy loam-soil of eastern 
North Carolina is, corn followed by bur clover. Sow 4 or 5 bushels of clover 
in bur just before the last plowing of corn. The clover is plowed under in 
spring and a volunteer crop appears in the fall. Another promising rotation 
is: Peanuts followed by wheat, wheat followed by cowpeas, corn with 
cowpeas, cotton. 

Director, North Carolina Agr. Experiment Station. B. W. Kilgore. 



NORTH DAKOTA 

Wheat is our money-crop. It is grown chiefly with a barren summer fallow 
every fourth or fifth year, and sometimes with a change to barley and millet 
occasionally, which is quite desirable. The summer fallow exhausts the 
soil and gives no return that season. In the flax districts, flax and wheat 
alternate and the two crops are sometimes replaced by barley or millet. A 
rotation of three wheat and flax crops and one of corn, potatoes, or other 
cultivated crops is beginning to find favour instead of summer fallow. This 
gives as good returns as fallow and forces the feeding of more provender 
to live-stock. North Dakota farmers are now just beginning to grow clover 
and timothy and to put them into the rotation. 

Professor of Agriculture, North Dakota Agr. College. J. H. Sheppabd. 



OHIO 

The most common rotation in this state is corn, wheat, and a timothy 
and clover mixture, with a variation in the number of years given to each 
crop. In some parts of the state a very common rotation is corn, two years; 
wheat, one year; timothy and clover, three years. In some localities where 
wheat is not profitable oats are substituted far it in this rotation. Alfalfa 
is now being used considerably in place of the timothy and clover mixture 
of the above rotation. Potatoes, wheat, and clover have been found a very 
satisfactory rotation by our Experiment Station. 

Professor of Agronomy, Ohio State University. A. G. McCall. 



OKLAHOMA 

No well-defined systems of rotation have been adopted in this new country. 
When this state was first opened, the one-crop system prevailed: wheat, 
Indian corn, and cotton. Gradually other crops have been introduced; we 
have now reached a point where rotations can be adopted. The following 
general rotation could be used in northern and eastern Oklahoma: Corn; 
cowpeas seeded at time corn is laid by; oats, followed by" cowpeas for green 
manure; KaflSr corn; cowpeas, harvested; fall wheat, followed by cowpeas 
for green manure. This general plan could be followed in other sections of 
the state but it would be necessary to substitute other crops, as broom com 
in the northwestern counties, and cotton in the southern counties. 

Agronomist, Oklahoma Agr. Exper. Station. L. A. Moorehouse. 



414 APPENDIX 

OREGON 

In the western portion of the state, on farms where general agriculture 
is practised, the rotation is usually with the cereals and clover or vetch; for 
instance, wheat, oats, clover for two years, or a crop of winter vetch. In 
the dairying districts corn is grown as a rotation with clover and cereals. 
In the Columbia River basin in eastern Oregon, the practice is grain growing 
exclusively; usually wheat, bare fallow, and wheat again. In sections where 
the rainfall is greater, some farmers follow wheat with barley, then the bare 
fallow. 

Director, Oregon Agr. Experiment Station. James Withycombe. 

PENNSYLVANIA 

Probably corn, oats, wheat, grass, the latter including more or less clover, 
is the most common rotation. In some parts of the state another year of 
of grass is added. In the southern part, notably in the Cumberland Valley, 
the common rotations are: Corn, oats, wheat, wheat, grass; and corn, wheat, 
wheat, grass. In the tobacco districts various short rotations are practised 
according to the soil conditions best adapted to the growth of this crop. 

Professor of Agriculture, Pennsylvania State College. G. C. Watson. 

RHODE ISLAND 

The usual practice is to break up sward land and plant potatoes and corn, 
sometimes reversing the order of these two, sometimes introducing a crop 
of millet or oats for another season, and then seeding either with or without 
winter rje or oats. The land is allowed to continue in grass upon most farms 
so long as there is anything worth cutting. The following rotations are in 
progress at the Experiment Station: (1) Oats sown in the spring, with 
common red clover; clover; potatoes, and winter rye sown after the potatoes 
are harvested; winter rye cut green and followed by Hubbard squashes; 
onions. (2) Winter rye; timothy and red top seed sown with rye and 
common red clover sown on the surface the following March; clover and 
grass; grass; grass; Indian corn; potatoes. (3) V^^inter rye; common red 
clover (seed sown in March of the previous year) ; potatoes. 

Director, Rhode Island Agr. Experiment Station. H. J. Wheelek. 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

Very little rotation is practised here. The main crops raised are corn 
and cotton. The bottom lands are usually planted to corn year after year 
and the uplands planted year after year to cotton. Cotton can be contin- 
uously grown on the same land without diminishing the yield provided the 
seeds are returned on the soil. But the continuous growing of cotton on 
uplands diminishes the fertility rapidly; chiefly because the clean cultivation 
that is required for this crop permits the soil to wash badly. We recom- 
mend a rotation of corn with cowpeas, and a cover crop of rye; wheat or 
winter oats; cowpeas, with a rye cover crop; cotton. We have a small 
section in which tobacco is grown; for this crop we recommend tobacco, 
with a rye cover crop; corn and cowpeas; oats; cowpeas; rye, with a cover 
crop; cotton. 

Director, South Carolina Agr. Experiment Station. J. N. Hakper. 



APPENDIX 415 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

No very definite methods of rotating crops have yet been adopted. In 
the dryer central and western portions of tne state it is important, if not 
essential, that small-grain crops be alternated with cultivated crops or with 
summer fallow handled to conserve moisture. In the eastern and south- 
eastern portions of the state, where moisture is more plentiful, a sod crop 
is needed in the rotation. Some suggested rotations are: (1) Wheat, brome 
hay three years, flax, wheat, corn. (2) Barley, millet, wheat. (3) wheat, 
com, oats. (4) Wheat, corn (manured), wheat, oats. (5) Wheat, oats, 
com, flax, millet. 

Agronomist, South Dakota Agr. Experiment Station. J. S. Cole. 

TENNESSEE 

A rotation often followed is corn, alone or with cowpeas, wheat, grass or 
grass and clover. This rotation is adapted to east and middle Tennessee, 
and parts of west Tennessee. Short rotations of wheat and clover, and of 
wheat and cowpeas are also practised to advantage. A good rotation for 
cotton is: Cotton;corn, and peas; a cereal (usually oats); cowpeas. Two de- 
sirable pasture rotations for sheep and hogs are; (1) Barley, (sown in 
August); sorghum; rape; cowpeas. (2) Clover, either red or alsike, sown 
in August or early in September; rape or barley or spring oats, followed by 
soy beans or cowpeas. 

Professor of Agronomy, University of Tennessee. Chas. A. Mooebs. 

TEXAS 

The common rotation in this state is corn and cotton. In a considerable 
portion of the state, notably the black-land section, alfalfa and cowpeas 
are added to this rotation. We have no grass crops that can come into our 
rotations; therefore, for the most part, our soils are covered with intertillage 
crops. In some sections peanuts are grown, in other sections potatoes have a 
place. Nearly all the legtimes are grown with considerable success. In the 
north Texas black-land country is a four-course rotation of corn, wheat, oats, 
and cotton. 

Professor of Agriculture, Texas Agr. College. F. S. Johnston. 

UTAH 

There is little systematic rotation of crops, largely because our soil is 
still nearly virgin. Among sugar-beet growers a common rotation is: Beets, 
manure applied in the fall and plowed; beets; alfalfa, with oats for a nurse 
crop; alfalfa, third crop plowed under as a green manure; beets. Sometimes 
an oat crop follows alfalfa previous to seeding the beets. A better rotation 
is: Sugar beets, manure applied in the fall and plowed under; beets; field 
peas with or without oats; sugar beets; corn or potatoes; alfalfa and oats; 
alfalfa, with third crop plowed under; sugar beets. Where it is desired 
to grow such crops as tomatoes and possibly wheat, or any other main crops, 
they can be supplied in place of oats, potatoes, or sugar beets, in this 
rotation. In dry farming the usual method at present is to grow wheat two 
years out of three, the land being summer-fallowed one year in three. 
Occasionally wheat is followed by barley or oats. A better system is : Wheat, 
potatoes if possible, or corn; wheat; field peas; barley; summer fallow; wheat. 

Agronomist, Utah Agr. Experiment Station. W. M. Jardine. 



416 APPENDIX 

VERMONT 

Com, potatoes, grass; or corn, oats, grass are about the only rotations 
practised in this state, grass occupying the major time. 

Director, Vermont Agr. Expermient Station. J. L. Hills. 

VIRGINIA 

The most common rotation is corn, one year; wheat, two years; grass 
for three to five years. Two years of wheat are put in because the farmers 
do not consider that they get their land in proper condition for grass following 
the corn with one year of wheat, especially when they expect to mow it for 
one or two years. 

Agronomist, Virginia Agr. Experiment Station. John Fain. 



WASHINGTON 

There have not been, as yet, any well-defined rotations established. In 
the extreme eastern part of the Palouse country, there is just beginning 
to be considerable alfalfa and brome grass grown, but where these are grown 
the farmers usually put them in for permanent meadow or pasture, rather 
than inserting them as crops in a rotation. 

Through all the wheat belt the common practice is to alternate grain with 
summer fallow, with two years of grain to one year of summer fallow in the 
more moist parts of the wheat belt and alternate grain and summer fallow 
in the drier portions. In the more moist portions the practice is rapidly 
developing of growing corn, potatoes, or sugar beets on these summer fallows 
and this is giving excellent results wherever tried. The objections to summer 
fallowing are too well known to need mention. 

In our irrigated sections cropping is becoming highly specialised, alfalfa 
continuously in one place, hops in another, fruit in another. On the west 
side of the state specialisation is also marked, though dairying is beginning 
to be a permanent factor and farmers are seeking to work out some sort of 
a rotation and some system of soiling. There are no established rotations 
as yet in the state of Washington. 

Assistant Agriculturist, Washington State College. Geo. Severance. 

WISCONSIN 

In central Wisconsin clover is sown with barley, and the barley harvested; 
the second year the clover is clipped after reaching the height of about six 
inches and the full crop retained for seed ; the third year the land is plowed 
and run to corn, followed with clover sown with barley. The most common 
rotation is clover and timothy sown with barley, oats, or wheat as a nurse crop. 
First year, harvest the grain. The next year the crop is clover largely, 
getting as a rule two cuttings. The ground is then manured quite heavily 
in the fall and winter. As a rule some clover and a good crop of timothy 
will be secured the third year. As soon as the hay is cut the land is usually 
pastured until fall. The fourth year the sod is turned and corn planted. 
Some farmers add a fifth year in which the ground is pastured. 

Agronomist, Wisconsin Agr. Experiment Station. R. A. More, 



APPENDIX 417 

WYOMING 

There are no crop rotations in general use. In the older fanning districts 
the farmers are generally adopting the rotation common in northern Colorado; 
namely, alfalfa three years, potatoes, grain and seed down to alfalfa. This 
rotation is probably unexcelled for the arid regions where potatoes are success- 
fully raised as a general crop. At higher altitudes an excellent rotation is 
field peas one or two years (to be fed lambs through the winter and not 
harvested), followed by grain. Farming without irrigation consists in faUow 
one year and grain or some other crop the next. Our soils are rich in mineral 
foods and poor in nitrogen and humus, so any successful rotation must con- 
tain a legume. 

Director, Wyoming Agr. Experiment Station. B. C. Buffxjm. 

11. ANALYSES OF SOILS 

The following analyses of a few representative soils illustrate the general 
composition of farm soils. 

ANALYSIS OF ADOBE SOIL FKOM SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 

Per Cent. 

Snica 66.69 

Alumina 14.16 

Ferric oxide 4.38 

Manganese oxide 0.09 

Lime 2.49 

Magnesia 1.28 

Potash 1.21 

Soda . 0.57 

Carbonic acid 0.77 

Phosphoric acid 0.29 

Sulphuric anhydride 0.41 

Chlorine 0.34 

Water 4.94 

Organic matter 2.00 

ANALYSIS OF LOESS FROM DtTBUQUE, IOWA 

Per Cent. 

Silica 72.68 

Alumina 12.03 

Iron sesquioxide 3.53 

Iron protoxide 0.96 

Titanum oxide 0.72 

Phosphoric anhydride 0.23 

Manganese oxide 0.06 

Lime 1.59 

Magnesia 1.11 

Soda 1.63 

Potash 2.13 

Water . 2.50 

Carbon dioxide 0.39 

Sulphurous anhydride 0.51 

Carbon 0.09 



418 APPENDIX 

ANALYSIS OF BOIL FKOM YAKIMA COUNTY, WABHINOTON 

Per Cent. 

Insoluble matter 71.67 \ -« _q 

Soluble sUica 5.11 j"^''-^** 

Potash 1.07 

Soda 0.35 

Lime 2.00 

Magnesia 1.34 

Brown oxide of manganese 0.04 

Peroxide of iron 6.88 

Alumina 7.91 

Phosphoric acid 0.13 

Sulphuric acid 0.02 

Water and organic matter 2.82 

Total 99.33 

Humus 4.10 

Hygroscopic moisture 4.98 

ANALYSIS OF SWAMP SOIB IN CAKTEBET COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA 

Per Cent. 

Silica (insoluble) 1.52 

Silica (soluble) 0.00 

Alumina 0.39 

Oxide of iron 0.15 

Lime 0.36 

Magnesia 0.14 

Potash 0.06 

Soda . 0.13 

Phosphoric acid 0.06 

Sulphuric acid 0.38 

Chlorine 0.02 

Organic matter 87.25 

Water 9.60 



APPENDIX 



419 



m. NATIVE PLANT FOOD IN FARM SOILS 

The analyses given below show the large amounts of plant food that 
are in most farm soils, and the wide variation in these amounts. 







V 




0.2 a 


o.ii«d 


"3.5 « 


Where from 


(U c 

go 


1 s 


o <u 


Pounds 
itrogen 
irst 8 i 
fSoil 


Pounds 
hosphor 
c i d i 
irst 8 i 
fSoil 


Pounds 
otash 
irst 8 i 
rSoil 




Zft. 


a<<;fl« 


cub 


Zfa o 


0^<b, o 


Oiii, o 


Alabama 


.195 


.196 


.183 


4,218 


4,240 


3,959 


Alabama 


.282 


.267 


.866 


6,436 


6,094 


19,756 


Canada 


.048 


.14 


.25 


1,112 


3,244 


5,793 


Canada 


.114 


.13 


.39 


2,638 


3,008 


9,024 


Colorado 


.04 


.23 


.23 


872 


5,016 


5,016 


Connecticut . . . 


.334 


.038 


.056 


7,224 


822 


1,211 


Connecticut . . . 


.14 


.051 


.047 


2,971 


1,082 


997 


Michigan 


.11 


.28 


1.95 


2,455 


6,250 


43,526 


Michigan 


.07 


.21 


1.1 


1,484 


4,451 


23,314 


Missouri 


.14 


.08 


1.32 


3,012 


1,721 


28,395 


Missouri 


.13 


.07 


2.54 


2,814 


1,515 


54,986 


Nebraska 


.07 


1.42 


.197 


1,530 


31,062 


4,306 


Nebraska 


.073 


.062 


.741 


1,581 


1,334 


15,938 


New York .... 


.204 


.115 


.96 


4,362 


2,460 


20,532 


New York .... 


.13 


.16 


.51 


3,074 


3,784 


12,063 



420 



APPENDIX 



IV. PLANT FOOD DRAWN FROM THE SOIL BY AVERAGE 
YIELDS OF DIFFERENT CROPS 

(The analyses given in IV, V, VI, and VII are chiefly from New 
York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut Experiment Station 
Reports.) 



Name of Crop 



Alfalfa 

Barley 

Buckwheat . . . 

Cabbage 

Cauliflower . . . 

Carrot 

Clover, red . . . 
Clover, scarlet 
Clover, white . 

Cowpea 

Corn 

Cotton 

Cucumber .... 

Hop 

Hemp 

Lettuce 

Meadow hay . 

Oat 

Onion 

Pea 

Potato 

Rape 

Rice 

Rye 

Soja (Soy) bean 
Sugar cane . . . 

Sorghum 

Sugar beet . . . 

Tobacco 

Turnip 

Vetch 

Wheat 



Nitrogen 



78 

63 

213 

202 

166 

171 

95 

89 

254 

146 

110 

142 

200 

41 

166 

89 

96 

153 

119 

154 

39 

87 

297 

518 

446 

95 

127 

187 

149 

111 



Phosphoric 
Acid 



65 
35 
40 
125 
76 
65 
46 
17 
29 
64 
69 
32 
94 
54 
34 
17 
53 
35 
49 
39 
55 
79 
24 
44 
62 
37 
90 
44 
32 
74 
35 
45 



Potash 



181 

62 

17 

514 

265 

190 

154 

57 

58 

169 

174 

35 

193 

127 

54 

72 

201 

96 

96 

69 

192 

124 

45 

76 

87 

107 

561 

200 

148 

426 

113 

58 



APPENDIX 



421 



V. ANALYSES OF COMMERCIAL FERTILISING MATERIALS 



Name of Substance 



Plwsphoric Acid Fertilisers 

Apatite 

Bone ash 

Bone-black 

Bone-black (dissolved) 

Bone meal 

Bone meal (from glue factory) 

Bone meal (dissolved) 

Caribbean guano 

Cuban guano 

Mona Island guano 

Nevassa phosphate 

Orchilla guano 

Peruvian guano 

S. Carolina rock (ground) . . . . 

S. Carolina rock (floats) 

S. Carolina rock (dissolved) . . 
Florida rock phosphate 

Potash Fertilisers 

Cottonseed hull ashes 

Kainit 

Muriate of potash 

Nitrate of potash 

Spent tan-bark ashes 

Sulphate potash (high-grade) . . 
Sulphate potash and magnesia 

Sylvanite 

Tobacco stems 

Wood ashes (unleached) 

Wood ashes (leached) 

Nitrogen Fertilisers 

Castor pomace 

Cottonseed meal 

Dried blood 

Dried fish 

Horn and hoof waste 

Lobster shells 

Meat scrap 

Malt sprouts 

Nitrate of soda 

Nitrate-cake 

Oleomargarine refuse 



■SO 



IS a. 



7.00 
4.60 



7.47 



24.27 

12.52 

7.60 

7.31 

14.81 

1.50 



7.33 
3.20 
2.00 
1.93 
6.31 
1.25 
4.75 
7.25 
10.61 
9.00 



9.98 

6.86 

12.50 

12.75 

10.17 

7.27 

12.09 

7.40 

1.25 

6.00 

8.54 



4.12 
1.70 
2.60 

1.67 
0.76 



7.85 



13.09 



2.29 



5.56 

6.66 
10.52 

7.25 
13.25 

4.50 
10.44 

4.04 
15.75 

2.30 
12.12 



2.61 



23.80 

13.54 

50.46 

45.19 

2.02 

51.60 

23.50 

16.65 

6.44 

5.50 

1.10 

1.12 
1.62 

0.45 



2.20 
0.40 



Phosphoric Acid 



id 
I- 



16.70 

8.28 



13.53 



7.55 



8.36 
0.60 



11.60 



3.05 



is 



0.30 
15.22 

4.07 



14.33 



6.90 

27.43 



3.60 
35.00 



5.20 



36.08 
35.89 
28.28 
17.00 
23.50 
29.90 
17.60 
18.90 
13.35 
21.88 
34.27 
26.77 
15.26 
28.03 
27.20 
15.20 
35.00 

8.50 



1.61 



0.60 
1.85 
1.40 

2.16 
1.45 
1.91 
8.25 
1.83 
3.52 
2.07 
1.70 



0.88 



422 



APPENDIX 



V. Analyses of Commercial Fertilising Materials — Continued 



Name of Substance 



1^ 
o V 



Phosphokic Acid 



.-So 



<p^ 



Nitrogen Fertilisers 

Sulphate of ammonia 

Tankage 

Wool waste 

Miscellaneous Materials 
Ashes (anthracite coal) . . . . 
Ashes (bituminous coal) . . . 

Ashes (corn-cob) 

Ashes (lime-kiln) 

Ashes (peat and bog) . . . . 

Gas lime 

Marl (Massachusetts) 

Marl (North Carolina) . . . . 

Muck (fresh) 

Peat 

Pine needles 

Shell lime (oyster shell) . . . . 

Soot 

Spent tan bark 

Spent sumach 

Sugar-house scum 



1.00 

13.20 

9.27 



15.45 

5.20 

4.40 

18.18 

1.50 

76.20 

61.50 

7.80 

19.50 

5.54 

14.00 

30.80 

50.20 



20.50 
6.82 
5.64 



0.30 



0.30 
0.75 
0.30 



0.20 
1.00 
2.10 



1.30 

0.10 
0.40 
23.20 
0.86 
0.70 



0.04 



0.10 
0.04 
1.83 
0.10 
0.30 



.02 



23 



11.25 
0.29 



0.10 
0.40 



1.18 
0.50 



1.05 
0.56 



0.20 
0.20 

0.04 
0.10 



VI. ANALYSES OF FARM MANURES 




Name of Substance 


a; 4-» 

c. a 

3 41 

•go 

II 


Z0-, 


PhBh 


2 « 


Cattle (solid fresh excrement) .... 
Cattle (fresh urine) 


73.27 


0.29 
0.58 
1.63 
0.44 
1.55 
0.80 
0.55 
1.95 
0.50 
0.60 
0.43 


0.10 
0.49 
0.85 
0.35 
1.50 
0.30 
0.15 
2.26 
0.60 
0.13 
0.83 


0.17 


Hen manure (fresh) 


1.54 


Horse (solid fresh excrement) 

Horse (fresh urine) 


0.17 


Poudrette (night soil) 


1.40 


Sheep (solid fresh excrement) 

Sheep (fresh urine) 


0.31 
0.01 


Stab e manure (mixed) 


0.30 


Swine (solid fresh excrement) 

Swine (fresh urine) 


0.41 
0.07 







APPENDIX 



423 



VII. FERTILISING MATERIALS IN FARM PRODUCTS 



Name of Substance 



Hay and Dry Fodders 



Alfalfa 

Carrot tops (dry) 

Clover (alsike) 

Clover (crimson) 

Clover (mammoth red) . 
Clover (medium red) 

Clover (white) 

Com fodder 

Corn stover 

Cowpea vines 

Hungarian grass (brome) . 

Italian rye-grass 

June grass 

Meadow fescue 

Meadow foxtail 

Millet (common) 

Mixed grasses 

Orchard grass 

Perennial rye-grass . . . . 

Red-top , 

Salt hay 

Serradella , 

Soja (Soy) bean 

Tall meadow oat grass 

Timothy hay 

Vetch and oats 

Yellow trefoil , 



Green Fodders 

Alfalfa . 

Clover (crimson) 

Clover (red) 

Clover (white) 

Corn fodder 

Corn fodder (ensilage) 

Cowpea vines 

Horse bean 

Meadow grass (in flower) 

Millet 

Oats 

Peas 

Rye grass 

Serradella 



So; 



6.26 

9.76 

9.93 

16.4 

11.41 

10.72 



28.24 
9.00 
7.15 
8.29 

9.79 

9.75 
11.26 
8.84 
9.13 
7.71 
5.36 
7.39 
6.30 

7.52 
11.98 



75.30 
8.15 
80.00 
81.00 
72.64 
71.60 
78.81 
74.71 
70.00 
62.58 
83.36 
81.50 
70.00 
82.59 



2.07 
3.13 
2.33 
1.95 
2.23 
2.09 
2.75 
1.80 
1.12 
1.64 
1.16 
1.15 
1.05 
0.94 
1.54 
1.28 
1.37 
1.31 
1.23 
1.15 
1.18 
2.70 
2.32 
1.16 
1.26 
1.37 
2.14 



0.72 
.43 
0.53 
0.56 
0.56 
0.36 
0.27 
0.68 
0.44 
0.61 
0.49 
0.50 
0.57 
0.41 



ft 
o <u 



1.46 
4.88 
2.01 
1.17 
1.22 
2.20 
1.81 
0.76 
1.32 
0.91 
1.28 
0.99 
1.46 
2.01 
2.19 
1.69 
1.54 
1.88 
1.55 
1.02 
0.72 
0.65 
1.08 
1.72 
1.53 
0.90 
0.98 



0.45 
.26 
0.46 
0.24 
0.62 
0.33 
0.31 
1.37 
0.60 
0.41 
0.38 
0.56 
0.53 
0.42 






0.53 
0.61 
0.70 
.36 
0.55 
0.44 
0.52 
0.51 
0.30 
0.53 
0.35 
0.55 
0.37 
0.34 
0.44 
0.49 
0.35 
0.41 
0.56 
0.36 
0.25 
0.78 
0.67 
0.32 
0.46 
0.53 
0.43 



0.15 
.08 
0.13 
0.20 
0.28 
0.14 
0.98 
0.33 
0.15 
0.19 
0.13 
0.18 
0.17 
0.14 



424 APPENDIX 

VII. Fertilising Materials in Farm Products — Continued 



Name of Substance 



■<-'rj 



^04 









Green Fodder 

Sorghum 

Vetch and oats 

White lupine 

Young grass 

Straw, Chaff, Leaves, etc. 

Barley chaff 

Barley straw 

Beech leaves (autumn) 

Buckwheat straw 

Corn cobs 

Corn hulls 

Oak leaves 

Oat chaff 

Oat straw 

Pea shells 

Pea straw (cut in bloom) 

Pea straw (ripe) 

Potato stalks and leaves 

Rye straw 

Sugar beet stalks and leaves 

Turnip stalks and leaves 

Wheat chaff (spring) 

Wheat chaff (winter) 

Wheat straw (spring) 

Wheat straw (winter) 

Roots and Tubers 

Beets (red) 

Beets (sugar) 

Beets (yellow fodder) 

Carrots 

Mangels 

Potatoes 

Rutabagas 

Turnips 

Grains and Seeds 

Barley 

Beans 

Buckwheat 

Corn kernels 

Corn kernels and cobs (cob meal) 

Hemp seed 

Linseed 



86.11 
85.35 
80.00 



13.08 
13.25 
15.00 
16.00 
12.09 
11.50 
15.00 
14.30 
28.70 
16.65 



77.00 
15.40 
92.65 
89.80 
14.80 
10.50 
15.00 
10.36 

87.73 
84.65 
90.60 
90.02 
87.29 
79.75 
87.82 
87.20 

15.42 

14. ib 
10.88 
10.00 
12.20 
11.80 



0.40 
0.24 
0.44 
0.50 



1.01 
0.72 
0.80 
1.30 
0.50 
0.23 
0.80 
0.64 
0.29 
1.36 
2.29 
1.04 
0.49 
0.24 
0.35 
0.30 
0.91 
1.01 
0.54 
0.82 

0.24 
0.25 
0.19 
0.14 
0.19 
0.21 
0.21 
0.22 

2.06 
4.10 
1.44 
1.82 
1.46 
2.62 
3.20 



0.32 
0.79 
1.73 
1.16 



0.99 
1.16 
0.36 
2.41 
0.60 
0.24 
0.15 
1.04 
0.88 
1.38 
2.32 
1.01 
0.07 
0.76 
0.16 
0.24 
0.42 
0.14 
0.44 
0.32 

0.44 
0.29 
0.46 
0.54 
0.38 
0.29 
0.50 
0.41 

0.73 
1.20 
0.21 
0.40 
0.44 
0.97 
1.04 



0.08 
0.09 
0.35 
0.22 



0.27 
0.15 
0.24 
0.61 
0.06 
0.02 
0.34 
0.20 
0.11 
0.55 
0.68 
0.35 
0.06 
0.19 
0.07 
0.13 
0.25 
0.19 
0.18 
0.11 

0.09 
0.08 
0.09 
0.10 
0.09 
0.07 
0.13 
0.12 

0.95 
1.16 
0.44 
0.70 
0.60 
1.75 
1.30 



APPENDIX 425 

VTI. Fertilising Materials in Farm Products — Continued 



Name of Substance 



^T3 5 



Grains and Seeds 

Lupines 

Millet 

Oats 

Peas 

Rye 

Soja (Soy) beans 

Sorghum 

Wheat, spring 

Wheat, winter 



Flour and Meal 

Corn meal 

Ground barley 

Hominy feed 

Pea meal 

Rye flour 

Wheat flour 



By-products and refuse 

Apple pomace 

Cotton hulls 

Cottonseed meal 

Glucose refuse 

Gluten meal 

Hop refuse 

Linseed cake (new process) . 
Linseed cake (old process) . . 

Malt sprouts 

Oat bran 

Rye middlings 

Spent brewer's grains (dry) . 
Spent brewer's grains (wet) . 

Wheat bran 

Wheat middlings 



Dairy Products 

Milk 

Cream 

Skim milk 

Butter 

Butter-milk 

Cheese (from unskimmed milk) . . 
Cheese (from half-skimmed milk) 
Cheese (from skimmed milk) 



13.80 
13.00 
20.80 
19.10 
14.90 
18.33 
14.00 
14.75 
15.40 



13.52 

13.43 

8.93 

8.85 

14.20 

9.83 



80.50 
10.63 

8.10 
8.53 
8.98 
6.12 
7.79 

10.28 
8.19 

12.54 
6.98 

75.01 

11.01 
9.18 



87.20 
68.80 
90.20 
13.60 
90.10 
38.00 
39.80 
46.00 



5.52 
2.40 
1.75 
4.26 
1.76 
5.30 
1.48 
2.36 
2.83 



2.05 
1.55 
1.63 
3.08 
1.68 
2.21 



0.23 
0.75 
6.52 
2.62 
5.43 
0.98 
5.40 
6.02 
3.67 
2.25 
1.84 
3.05 
0.89 
2.88 
2.63 



0.58 
0.58 
0.58 
0.12 
0.64 
4.05 
4.75 
5.45 



1.14 
0.47 
0.41 
1.23 
0.54 
1.99 
0.42 
0.61 
0.50 



0.44 
0.34 
0.49 
0.99 
0.65 
0.54 



0.13 
1.08 
1.89 
0.15 
0.05 
0.11 
1.16 
1.16 
1.60 
0.66 
0.81 
1.55 
0.05 
1.62 
0.63 



0.17 
0.09 
0.19 

0.09 
0.29 
0.29 
0.20 



0.87 
0.91 
0.48 
1.26 
0.82 
1.87 
0.81 
0.89 
0.68 



0.71 
0.66 
0.98 
0.82 
0.85 
0.57 



0.02 
0.18 
2.78 
0.29 
0.43 
0.20 
1.42 
1.65 
1.40 
1.11 
1.26 
1.26 
0.31 
2.87 
0.95 



0.30 
0.15 
0.34 

0.15 
0.80 
0.80 
0.80 



426 APPENDIX 

VIII. SCHEDULE FOR THE VALUATION OF FERTILISERS 

The following is the schedule of prices adopted by agreement by the 
Experiment Stations of the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New 
Jersey, and Rhode Island, to be used in the valuation of fertOisers for the 
year 1906: 

Cents per pound 

Nitrogen in ammonium salts 17.5 

Nitrogen in nitrates 16.5 

Organic nitrogen in dry and fine-ground fish, meat, and blood, and 

in mixed fertilisers 18.5 

Organic nitrogen in fine bone and tankage 18.0 

Organic nitrogen in coarse bone and tankage IS.O 

Phosphoric acid, soluble in water • • • 4.5 

Phosphoric acid, soluble in ammonium citrate 4.0 

Phosphoric acid in fine-ground fish, bone, and tankage ... 4.0 
Phosphoric acid in coarse fish, bone, and tankage . . . . S.O 
Phosphoric acid in mixed fertilisers, if insoluble in water and in am- 
monium citrate 2.0 

Phosphoric acid in cottonseed meal, castor pomace, and wood ashes 4.0 
Potash in high-grade sulphate, and in forms free from muriate (or 

chlorids) 5-0 

Potash as muriate 4^ 



INDEX 



Abrasive effects of sand, 19 
Absorbent capacity of soils, 95 
Acid, phosphoric, forms of, 370 
Acids secreted by plant roots, 9 
Adaptability of soils, 24 
Adobe soils, composition of, 63 

where found, 64 
Air fertilises the soil, 37 
Air, fertility in, 29, 37 
Air in soils, 24 
Alabama, rotation in, 405 
Alfalfa, value as a soil improver, 340 
Alkali soils, contents of, 66 

cost to reclaim, 67 

deep tillage for, 68 

deficient in nitrogen, 69 

how to treat, 67 

two types of, 66 
Alluvial soils, 17, 48 
Ammonia is not nitrogen, 369 
Analyses of commercial fertilising 
materials, 421-422 

of farm manures, 422 
Analysing soils at home, 71 
Analysis of adobe soil from Santa F6, 
N. M., 417 

of loess from Dubuque, la., 
417 

of soil from Yakima Co., 
Wash., 418 

of swamp, soil in Carteret 
Co., N. C., 418 
Angleworms, service of, 14 
Animal excretions, value of, 316 
Animals as soil builders, 12 

enrich soils, 21 

obstruct drains, 228 
Ants as soil builders, 13 
Arid land, cost of levelling, 267 

should be level, 266 

water needs of, 265 
Arizona, rotation in, 405 
Arkansas, rotation in, 405 
Artesian wells, available for irriga 
tion, 244 



Artificial fertilisers, are made of, 366 

growth of trade in, 365 
Ashes, cotton hull, 384 

hardwood, 384 

lime-kiln, 384 

softwood, 384 

unleached, wood, 384 

use of, 62 

wood, for muck soils, 62 

Bacteria do not thrive on sour or 
wet soils, 337 

each crop has different, 335 

in manure, 348 

in the soil, 40, 43, 334 
Barley, temperature of soil for, 32 
Beam wheel, plow, 133 
Blood, dried, contents of, 378 
Bogs, drainage of, 201 
Breaks, how to construct, 293 

necessary to good farming, 294 
Brush drag, 173 
Burrowing animals soil builders, 13 

California, rotation in, 405 
Capacity of soils to hold water, 80, 93 
Capillary action, 89, 96 
Catch crops, how to use, 331 
Chemical changes in the soil, 44 
Chemical vs. mechanical analysis, 

71 
Clay, 52 

loams, 58 

test for, 72 

to separate from sand and 
silt, 73 
Clay soils are cold, 33 

composition of, 56 

crops for, 59 

needs of, 389 

properties of, 52 

treatment of, 57, 126 

value of, 57, 93 
Cleansing properties of commercial 
fertilisers, 321 



427 



428 



INDEX 



Clevis, plow, 133 

Clover, crimson, a soil improver, 340 
red, is best green-manuring 

crop, 338 
red, when to sow, 338 
temperature of soil for, 32 
Cold, effect on rock, 6 
Cold soil, drainage helps, 33 
Colorado, rotation in, 406 
Commercial fertilisers, 364 

a poor soil improver, 345 
are made of, 366 
when to apply, 395 
Composition of soils, 51 
Conglomerates, 5 
Connecticut, rotation in, 406 
Cottonseed meal, contents of, 378 
Coulter, disk and knife, 132 
Cover crop adds humus to soil, 331 
how to use, 331 
checks erosion, 293 
use in fruit growing, 331 
Cow manure, plant food value, 

349 
Cowpea, value as catch crop, 339 
value as soil improver, 339 
Crimson clover a valuable soil im- 
prover, 340 
Crop alternation in U. S., examples 

of, 307-310, 319 
Cropping impairs fertility, 312 
Crop rotation checks "club-foot," 
303 
fungous diseases, 304 
insect and disease injury, 303 
potato scab, 303 
weediness, 302 
Crop rotation for "Corn Belt," 
308, 310 
for dairy farm, 308, 309 
for hay and grains, 310 
why beneficial, 300 
Crop rotations practised in different 

states, 407-419 
Crops, catch and cover, how to use, 
331 
choosing for a rotation, 305 
clovers, including all legumes, 

need of, 393 
cotton, needs of, 394 
different rooting habits of, 

301 
early, best slope for, 34 
forage, need of, 393 



Crops, for loam soils, 59 

for sandy loams, 55 

for sandy soils, 54 

for sour soils, 401 

fruit, need of, 394 

gradual decrease in jdeld, 285 
due to exhaustion of 
soluble plant food, 286 

how often to irrigate, 268 

Indian com, needs, 393 

learned by study, 393 

market garden, needs of, 394 

needs of different, 392 

root and tuber crops, needs 
of, 394 

rotation, a law of Nature, 300 

rotation of, 299 

sweet and Irish potatoes, needs 
of, 394 
Cultivate, how often, 165 

how deep, 166 
Cultivating, 142 

to kill weeds, 157 
Cultivation to save water, 163 
Cultivators, broad-tooth, assist ero- 
sion, 295 

called "horse hoes," 152 

definition of, 152 

hand, 183 

shovel-tooth, or coulter, 153 

spike-tooth, 153, 184 

spring-tooth, 154 
Cultivators, sulky, 155 

types and use of, 144, 152-156 
Culture, level, advantage of, 168 

Dairy farm rotation, 308, 309 
Delaware, rotation in, 406 
Deodoriser, soil is a, 39 
Disk plow, 139 
Ditch digging, 224 

tools used for, 224 
Ditches, cement-lined, 252 

cost of filling, 229 

fix grade and depth, 203, 214 

how to dig, 202, 224 

open, 200, 202 

when practicable, 201 

how to fill, 226 
Ditching spade, 225 
Diversified farming, 315 
Diversity of soils, 49 
Do plants excrete? 318 
Draft in plowing, 127 



INDEX 



429 



Drag, brush, use of, 173 
Dramage capacity of tiles, 223 

direct benefits of, 193 

ditch, how to dig, 202 

for special crops, 195 

natural, 194 

poor, signs of, 190 

signs of need, 191 

warms the soil, 33 

when needed, 190 
Drainage system, avoid abrupt 
curves, 217 

cost of, 229 

how to plan, 208 

map and drawing, 208 

outlet for, 209 

planning, 207 
Draining, effect on soil, 196 

farm soils need, 194 

first cost large, 196 

lowers water-table, 198 

makes soil more moist, 197 

pot holes, 230 

practical results from, 199 

promotes aeration, 197 

reclaims swamps, etc., 193, 
231 

slope an aid to, 195 

to improve texture, 192 
Drains, box, 230 

brush, 230 

fall of, 211 

grade for, 207, 210 

kind to use, 200 

mole, 230 

pole, 230 

stone, 229 

surface, 200, 202 

tile, 201, 205, 217, 225 
Dried blood, contents of, 378 
Drift soils, how made, 12, 48 
Drumlins, 12 
Dry farming, 105 

crops under, 108, 238 

methods, 107 

secret of, 108 

Early crop, best slope for, 34 
Earth being slowly levelled, 4 
Earthworms as soil workers, 14 
Electricity of the soil, the, 39 

increases yield, 39 
Elements in rocks, 27 
Elements in soils, 27 



Engines to pump water, 248 

cost of, 248 
Erosion causes loss of fertility, 286 
checked by deep plowing, 295 
directing water, 291 
side-hill ditches, 291 
terracing, 291 
underdrainage, 294 
methods of checking, 288 
on slope lands, 288 
prevented by woodlands, 289 
trees prevent, 289 
Erosive action of sand, 19 
Eucalyptus trees aid drainage, 78 
Evaporation of water, 88, 93 
Excretions, animal, value of, 316 
Excretory theory of soil fertility, 318, 
321 

Fallowing and soil fertility, 296 
methods of, 298 
to get rid of weeds, 298 
to set free plant food, 297 
to store water, 297 
Fall plowing, 134 
Farming, diversified, 315 
dry, 105, 238 
improvident, 343 
single-crop, 310, 315 
Farm irrigation, 233 
Farm manures, 346 

analyses of, 422 
Farm products, fertilising materials 

in, 423-425 
Farm soils, leading types of, 53 
native plant food in, 419 
test of water capacity, 93 
Fertile air, 29 
Fertilisers, amount to apply, 397 

advantages of home-mixed, 

376 
artificial, are made of, 366 

growth of trade in, 365 
bill of American farmers ex- 
cessive, 364 
calculating value of, from 

analysis, 373 
commercial, as soil cleansers, 

321 
commercial, when to apply, 

395 
common way of testing, 390, 

391 
cost of, 375 



430 



INDEX 



Fertilisers, crude fish scrap, 386 

green manures not complete, 

332 
how to apply, 396 
indirect, benefit the soil, 399 
low grade, expensive, 375 
many brands of, 367 
new theory as to action, 819, 

320 
nitrogen, quickly soluble, 

396 
quantivalence of, 370 
raw materials can be bought, 

377 
seaweed, 386 
tags, studying, 368 
guarantees on, 368 
tobacco stems and stalks, 386 
trade in. State supervision, 

367 
valuation of, schedule for, 426 
value based on amount of 

{)lant food contained, 373 
ue of, 373 
what kinds to use, 388 
when complete and incom- 
plete, 366 
when it pays to use, 398 
wool and hair waste, 386 
Fertilising materials in farm pro- 
ducts, 423-425 
Fertility, influence of plant food on, 
281 
lost in cropping, 312 
loss by erosion, 286 
maintenance.conflicting views 

on, 281 
of soil, to maintain, 280, 311 
selling, 311 

soil, new theory of, 318-321 
Film water, 30 

as plant food, 25, 30 
held by soils, amount of, 81 
movement of, 87, 90 
need of, 31 
to prevent loss of, 90 
Fineness of soil, 25 
Fire-fang or ferment, 349 
Flooding, in irrigation, 254 
Florida, rotation in, 407 
Flume, how to build, 252, 258 
Forest, preserve on hill crests, 289 
Forests, influence on water supply, 



Free water, rainfall is, 29 

Fresh mamu'e best for heavier soils, 

360 
Frost a soil refiner, 21 
Furrow irrigation, 257-260 

Gang plow, 139 

Garden irrigation, 258 

Gases absorbed by the soil, 38 

German potash salts, sources of, 

385 
Germination of seeds, 99 
Germ life in the soil, 40 
Glacial soils, 49 
Glaciers deposit soil, 11 
Good texture, how Nature secures, 
323 
humus insures, 323 
what is meant by, 322 
Grade of tile drains, 210 
to be uniform, 211 
to estabhsh, 212, 214 
Gravelly loams, 59 
Green manure benefits poor soils 
most, 336 
darkens soil, 35 
red clover the best, 338 
two kinds of, 329 
Green-manuring and worn-out soils, 

322 
Green-manuring for impaired soil, 

330 
Green maniures from non-legimi- 
inous crops, 341 
not complete fertihsers, 332 
when to plow under, 337 
Guarantees, fertiliser, points for 

study of, 372, 373 
GuUies, clay soils most Uable, 294 

growth checked by breaks, 
294 
Gypsum alleviates stable odours, 356 

Hand cultivators, 184 
Hand tools, 183 
Harrowing, objects of, 142 
Harrow, Acme, 148 

cutaway, 149 

disk, 149 

kinds and use, 144-152 

Meeker, the, 150 

plank, 179 

rolling, 149 

smoothing, 147 



INDEX 



431 



Harrow, spading, 149 

spike-tooth, 145, 146 

spring-tooth, 147, 148 
Hay an exhausting crop, 318 

salt, 65 
Heat, effect on rock, 6 
Hoes, scuffle, 184 

styles of blades, 182 

wheel, 184 
Hoeing, good and poor, 181 

purpose of, 179 

to kiQ weeds, 180 
Hog manure, plant food value, S49 
Horses, heavy vs. light for plowing, 

128 
Horse manure, value of, 349 
How deep to cultivate, 166, 168 
How often to cultivate, 165 
How plants drink, 77 
Humus, 53 

enables soil to hold moisture, 
328 

increases water capacity of 
soils, 83 

darkens the soil, 35 

test for, 72 

value of, 8, 83, 92 

Ice has made soil, 11 

Idaho, rotation in, 407 

Idle land unprofitable, 332 

Illinois, rotation in, 407 

Improvident farming, 343 

Indiana, rotation in, 407 

Infertility caused by poor texture, 
283 

Influence of sun on soil, 34 

Inoculating with old soil, 334 
artScial cultures, 334 

Inoculation of soils, bacterial, 40, 
43, 334 

Insect pests, control of, 303 

Iowa, rotation in, 408 

Irrigation, alfalfa, 271 

afternoon best time for, 269 
by well and spring water, 244 
directing the flow, 269 
extent of, 233 
frequency and time of, 267 
from artesian well, 244 
hydrant water for, 244 
in foreign countries, 233 
in humid regions, 239, 242 
in the East, 241 



Irrigation in United States, 233-286 
market-garden, 241, 245 
NationjJ aid in, 275 
objects of, 236 
of meadows, 271 
orchard, 271 
of small fruits, 273 
of potatoes, 273, 
piunping water for, 246 
sources of water for, 244 
supply of water for, 248 
of tree fruits, 271 
of vegetables, 274 
when necessary, 287 
winter, 268 

Japanese pea, value as a soil im- 
prover, 341 
Jointer, plow, 132 
Joints of tile drains, 226 

Kainit, effect of, 403 

enriches manure, 357 
source of and contents, 885 
value of, 385 

Kansas, rotation in, 408 

Kentucky, rotation in, 408 

Land reclaimed by drainage, 231 
enriched by irrigation, 237 
Land plaster, as aid in saving 
manure, 357 
or gypsum, effect on soil, 402 
for treating alkali soils, 402 
Land, when to ridge, 169 
Landside plow, 137 
Legume, what it is, 329 

benefit poor soils most, 336 
Leguminous plants renovate soil, 

330, 334 
Level culture, advantage of, 168 
Level, home-made, to construct 218 
how to use, 213 
spirit, use of, 216 
Lime and land plaster called indirect 

fertilisers, 399 
Lime, air-slaked, how used, 402 
effect on light soil, 399 
leachy soil, 399 
clay soil, 399 
how to apply, 401 
water-slaked best form to use 

on sour soils, 401 
when to apply, 402 



432 



INDEX 



Liming, benefits of, 399, 400 

benefits acid soil, 338 
Litmus tests for sour soils, 401 
Live-stock excrements, value of, 316 
Loams, sandy, 55 

clay, 58 
Loam soils, value of, 59, 93 
Loams, gravelly and stony, 59 
Loess soils, composition of, 62, 

where found, 63 
Louisiana, rotation in, 409 
Lupines grown for green-manuring, 
341 

Maine, rotation in, 409 

Mains, rules for estimating size of, 

223 
Manure, green, darkens soil, S5 
two kinds, 329 
horse, cow, and hog, value of, 

349 
horse, value of, 349 
how it benefits the soil, 846 
improve texture of the soil, 347 
pits, 355 
quality of, 350 
rotted, best for lighter soils, 

360 
sheep and p ^'iltry, 350 
spreaders, 363 
Manures and fertihsers as soil 

cleansers, 319 
Manures, animal, value of, 316 

amount made on the farm, 

358 
excel in nitrogen, 362 
farm, analyses of, 422 

average values of, 350 
green feeds aid production of, 

358 
how much to use, 361 
how to apply, 363 
how to care for, 354 
how wasted, 351 
injury from heating, 353 
loss from escape of urine, 854 
loss from fermentation, 353 
loss from leaching, 352 
new theory as to action, 319, 

320 
plant food in, wasted, 352 
spreading in winter, 360 
the real value of, 346 
to estimate plant food in, 359 



Manures to prevent loss by heating, 
356 

when to apply, 360 
Marl, effect of, 402 
Marshes, drainage of, 201 
Maryland, rotation in, 409 
Massachusetts, rotation in, 410 
Measuring water, methods of, 262 
Meal, cottonseed, contents of, 378 
Mechanical vs. chemical analysis, 71 
Michigan, rotation in, 410 
Mineral contents of soil, 26, 28 
Miner's inch, definition of, 263 
Mississippi, rotation in, 410 
Missouri, rotation in, 410 
Modules, 263 
Montana, rotation in, 411 
Morains, 12 

Mosaic law as to fallowing, 296 
Moss, sphagnum, 47 
Mouldboard, plow, 131 
Moving water, action of, 16 
Muck, crops for, 62 

soils, 60 

wood ashes for, 62 
Mulch, definition of, 91 

in dry farming, 107 

prevents loss of soil water, 91 
Mulches, the most effective, 91 
Muriate of potash, contents of, 385 

value of, 385 

Native plant food in farm soils, 421 
Nebraska, rotation in, 411 
Nevada, rotation in, 411 
New Hampshire, rotation in, 411 
New Jersey, rotation in, 412 
New Mexico, rotation in, 412 
New York, rotation in, 412 
Nitrate of soda. Chili salt-petre, con- 
tents of, 378 
Nitric acid ferment, 40 
Nitrification of soils, 40 
Nitro-culture, bacteria, 335 
Nitrogen fertilisers quickly soluble, 

396 
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, 40 

process of, 329, 334 
Nitrogen in soils, value of, 41 

most costly plant food, 377 

sources of, 377 
Non-leguminous plants as soil im- 
provers, 341 
North Carolina, rotation in, 412 



INDEX 



433 



North Dakota, rotation in, 413 
Northern slope vs. southern slope, 34 

Oats and buckwheat as soil im- 
provers, 342 

Obstructions in drains, to prevent, 
228 

Ohio, rotation in, 413 

Oklahoma, rotation in, 413 

Oregon, rotation in, 414 

Peat and muck soils, need, 390 
Peat, formation of, 47 
Peat soils, 60 

crops for, 62 
Pebbles as plant food, 25 
Pennsylvania, rotation in, 414 
Phosphoric acid, available, 370 
cost of, 383 
forms of, 370 
insoluble, 371 
phosphate meal, 381 
reverted, 372 
soluble, 370 
sources of, 379 

acid phosphate, 383 
basic slag, 381 
bone boiled and 
steamed, contents, 
380 
dissolved bone, 382 
dissolved boneblack, 

contents, 380 
dissolved rock, 383 
phosphate slag, con- 
tents of, 381 
plain superphosphate, 

383 
raw bone, contents,379 
rock phosphates, con- 
tents of, 381 
superphosphates, 382 
Thomas slag, contents 
of. 381 
Pine barrens, 51 

Pits, cement, to save manures, 355 
Planker, how to make, 178 

use of, 179 
Planking, benefit of, 178 
Plant food, 25, 45 
air as, 29 

available only in certain 
forms, 283 



Plant food drawn from the soil by 
average yields of different 
crops, 420 

film water as, 25 

in arid lands ineffective with- 
out water, 283 

locked up in soils, 283 

loss in seepage water, 85 

loss of under different systems 
of farming, 314 

native, in farm soils, 419 

not fertility, 281 

pebbles as, 25 

soils exhausted of, 284 

soil a storehouse of, 282 

stones as, 25 

value of different manures, 
349 

trade value of, 375 
Plants as soil builders, 7, 8, 10, 53 

do they excrete, 318 

enrich soils, 21 

excrete poisonous wastes from 
roots, 320 

how they drink, 77 

leguminous, definition of, 329 

for soils lacking nitrogen, 329 

used for green manures, 329, 
334 ,o; 

soil-br.lding, check erosion, 
29 

Bermuda grass, 292 

brome grass, 293 

Lespedeza, 293 

sanitation by, 320 

water needed by, 76 

what they feed upon, 45 
Plow across slopes to check erosion, 
295 

beam, 131 

beam wheel, 133 

clevis, 133 

coulter, 132 

disk, 139 

early American, 115 

essentials of a good, 131, 133 

evolution of the, 114-117 

gang, 139 

how deep to, 122 

jointer, 132 

landside, 137 

mouldboard, 131 

point, 133 

share, 133 



434 



INDEX 



Plow, the modern, 116 

subsoil, 125 

sulky, 138 

swivel, 137 

trenching, 224 

when to, 134-136 
Plowing, a soil cooler, 36 

deep, 121, 123, 124, 126 

deep, vs. shallow, 126 

draft in, 127 

fall, 134 

flat-furrow, 118 

for fruit trees, and root crop, 
123 

heavy teams for, 128 

in heavy soils, 121 

in the South, 126 

lap-furrow, 119 

leguminous crop grown for, 
329, 334 

objects and methods, 114-131 

overlapping-furrow, 118 

power for, 129 

rolling-furrow, 118 

spring, 135 

steam power, 130 

to drain soil, 122 

to establish a mulch, 122 
Plowing under a green manure, 337 

when dispensed with, 136 
Plows, adjustment of, 140 

various tj'pes of, 137 
Potash, sources of, 384 
Poultry manure, of highest value, 350 
Power for plowing, 129 

electricity used, 130 

steam, 130 
Pumpkins, temperature of soil for, 32 
Pumps for irrigating purposes, 246 

cost of, 248, 250 

hydraulic rams, 250 

steam and gasoline engines, 
248 

water-wheels, 249 

windmills, 247 

Quantivalence of fertilisers, 370 
Questioning the soil, 390 

by experiment with fertilisers, 
390, 391 

Rainfall, general, map of, 236 
insufficient, 78 
soil storage of, 79 



Rainfall, supplies free water, 29 

unevenly distributed, 78 
Rape a good soil improver, 342 
Raw materials, actual mixing easily 
done, 388 

cheaper to buy, 388 

mixing the, 387 
Reclamation Act of 1902, 243, 276 
Reclamation of alkali soils, 67 
Red clover excels as a soil improver, 

338 
Reducing and fining process cease- 
less, 4 
Reservoirs, for water storage, 243 

small, how to build, 245 
Rhode Island, rotation in, 414 
Ridging crops promotes erosion, 296 

land, 168 
Rock becoming soil, 3, 27 

elements in, 27 

erosion of, 19 

split by roots and stems, 9 

weathering of, 3 
Rollers, kinds and use, 177 
Rolling, to assist germination, 171 

benefits of, 173-176 
Roots, fertilising value of, 332 

plant, secrete acids, 9 

split rocks, 9 
Rotating crops, rules for, 305 
Rotation, few systems of, in U. S., 
307-310, 319 

for "Corn Belt," 308, 310 

for hay and grains, 310 

of sown and tilled crops, 303 

typical systems of, 307 
Rotations practised in different 

states, 407-419 
Rye improves soil when plowed 
under, 341 

Salt an indirect fertiliser to small 

extent, 399 
Salt hay, 65 
Salt, little used as fertiliser, 403 

marshes, drainage for, 65 

marsh soils, 64 

how formed, 65 

crops for, 65 
Sand, 51 

abrasive effects of, 19 

dunes, 50 

test for, 72 

to separate from siltand clay,73 



INDEX 



435 



Sandy loams, 55 

soils, 54, 93 

soils are warm, 33 

soils, needs of, 389 

treatment of, 55, 123 

value of, 55 
Seaweed, as fertiliser, 386 
Sedentary soils, 46 
Seedlings, tree, 290 
Seeds of quick-growing trees, to 

sow, 290 
Seeds, to genninate well, 99 
Seepage, loss of water by, 84 

water, loss of plant food in, 85 
Selling fertility, 311 
Separating sand, silt, and clay, 73 
Shallow soils, 30 

are dryest, 82 
Share, plow, 133 
Sheep manure, a good plant food, 

350 
Silt, 52 

test for, 72 

to separate from clay and 
sand, 73 
Single-crop farming, 310, 315 

is ruinous, 311 
Slope of land desirable, 34, 195 
Sod land, to retain water in, 170 
Soil, a chemical laboratory, 45 

acid, benefit of liming, 338 

alluvial, 17, 48 

analysis a guide to fertilising, 
389 

bacteria, 334 

becoming rock, 5 

building, history of, 7 

built by wind, 18, 50 

chemical changes in the, 44 

cleansers, manures and fer- 
tilisers, 319 

cold, drainage helps, 33 

contains air, 24 

elements in, 27 

evolution of, 7 

experts, figures by, 24 

fertilised by air, 37 

fertility, excretory theory of, 
318, 321 

fertility, newtheoryof,318-321 

fine, water capacity of, 81, 83 

fineness of, 23 

fineness is richness, 25 

formation, example of, 5 



Soil, germ life in the, 40 
how plants make, 8 
how water is held in, 29 
influence of exposure, 34 
influence of sun on, 34 
inoculation, bacterial, 334 
inoculation with bacteria, 40, 

43 
is a deodoriser, 39 
keep it busy, 304 
left by glaciers, 11 
made by ice, 1 1 
made by rocks, 3, 27 
mineral contents of, 26 
moved by water, 16 
must be moist, 30 
must be warm, 31 
nature of, 22 
particles, number of, 23 
renovation, how to begin, 344 
vs. subsoil, 69 
survey, U. S., 74 
temperature, 31 
temperature, influence of til- 
lage on, 36 
teems with life, 20 
tests, 72 
to improve ventilation of the, 

37 
value as a mulch, 91 
ventilation of, 37, 111 
water, seepage of, 85 

can be prevented, 87 
water, to maintain supply, 75 
when ready to harrow, 151 
yeast cake, action of, 335 

Soils, absorbent, 95 

absorb various gases, 38 
activity of, 3, 20, 21 
adaptability of, 24 
adobe, 63 
alluvial, 17, 48 
analysing at home, 71 
average depth of, 48 
capacity to hold water, 80, 93 
cause of infertility, 320 
clayey, 56 

composition of, 3, 51 
dark-coloured, 35 
distribution of, 49 
diversity of, 49 
drift, 48 

exhausted of plant food, 284 
farm, leading types of, 53 



436 



INDEX 



Soils, farm, mostly incomplete, 4 

native plant food in, 

419 
test of water capacity, 
93 
glacial, 49 

how to manage, 46, 123 
kinds of, 46-50 
light-coloured, to make dark, 
35 

treatment of, 35 
loess, 62 

native richness of, 281 
peat and muck, 60 
salt marsh, 64 
sandy, 54, 123 
sedentary, 46 
shallow, 30 
sour and wet, unfavourable 

to bacteria, 337, 401 
test of water-moving ability, 

95 
tests for, 72 
that need liming, 400 
transported, 47 
unproductive because mis- 
managed, 344 
value of, 50 
value of testing, 73 
water capacity of, how to 

increase, 83 
why they are sour, 400 
worn-out, and green-manur- 
ing, 322 
Soja bean a good soil improver, 341 
Sour soils, crops for, 401 

how to sweeten, 401 
tests for, 401 
what to plant in, 401 
why so, 400 
South Carolina, rotation in, 414 
South Dakota, rotation in, 415 
Soy bean a good soil improver, 341 
Spade, ditching, 225 
Sphagnum moss, 47 
Spring plowing, 135 
Stock-feeding and soil fertility, 345 
Stones as plant food, 25 

heaved up, 5 
Stony loams, 59 

Streams underground, 85, 243 
Stubble, fertilising value of, 332 
Sub-irrigation, 260 
cost of, 260 



Sub-Irrigation, of soils, 260 

pipes for, 261 

tiles for, 261 
Subsoil, influence on water capacity 
of soils, 82 

what it is, 69 
Subsoiling, 124, 125 
Succession cropping, profits of, 311 
Sulky plow, 138 
Sulphate of ammonia, 378 

nitrogen contents of, 378 

of potash, 386 

high grade, cost of, 386 
low grade, cost of, 386 
Sun, influence of, on soil, 34 

like a pump, 89 
Superphosphate, enriches manure, 

357 
Swivel plow, 137 
Sylvinit, a crude potash salt, 385 

Tags, fertiliser, guarantees on, 368 

repetitions in, 369 

studying, 368 
Temperature changes, results of, 5 
Temperature of different soils, 32 

of the soil, 31 

for barley, 32 
for clover, 32 
for pumpkins, 32 
for tomatoes, 32 
Tennessee, rotation in, 415 
Tests for soils, 72 
Texas, rotation in, 415 
Texture, soil, manure improves, 347 
Tile drains, cost of laying, 228 

kinds of tiles for, 221 

need close joints, 226 

obstructions in, 227 

size of tiles for, 217 

to fix grade, 212, 214 

to lay, 206, 216, 221, 225 

round are best, 221 

use of, 205 
Tiles, 3-inch best for drains, 217 

cost of, 229 

drainage capacity of sizes, 223 

glazed, 222 

how to lay, 225, 261 

how to select, 222 

kinds of, 221 

relative capacity of sizes, 223 

round, most in use, 221 

special forms of, 221 



INDEX 



437 



Tillage after irrigation essential, 270 
benefits of, 97, 105, 112 
deep, increases water capacity 

of soils, 83 
good, value of, 36 
influence on soil temperature, 

36 
present emphasis on, 97 
promotes fertility, 110 
to kill weeds, 101 
to prepare seed bed, 98 

Tomatoes, temperature of soil for, 32 

Tools, a variety needed, 186 
extravagance in, 186' 
farm, selection of, 185 
hand, 183 

Transported soils, 47 

Tree seeds, 290 

Trees an aid to drainage, 78 

hardwood preferable, . 290 
how to transplant, 290 
quick-growing, to check 
erosion, 290 

Tree roots obstruct drains, 228 

seedlings, how to set out, 291 

Under-drainage, philosophy of, 205 

cost of, 229 

to lower water-table, 83 

benefits of, 192 

deepens shallow soils, 192 

for clayey soils, 192 
Under-drains, action of, 205 

cost of laying, 228 

depth of, 219, 220 

distance between, 218 

kinds of tiles for, 221 

to estimate size of, 223 
Underground streams, 85, 243 
Unproductive soils have been mis- 
managed, 344 
Utah, rotation in, 415 

Value of testing soils, 73 
Ventilation of the soil, 37, 111 
Vermont, rotation in, 416 
Vetches, smooth and hairy, soil im- 
provers, 341 
Virginia, rotation in, 416 

Washington, rotation in, 416 
Water absorbed from air, 31 

amount needed by plants, 
76, 264 



Water, amount required to produce 
crops, 238 
capacity of soils to hold, 80 

93 
contents of soil, 29 
distribution for irrigation, 250 
ditches and flumes, 251 
duty of, 264 
film, 30 

amount held by soils, 

81 
movement of, 87 
to prevent loss of, 90 
for irrigation, sources of, 244 
free, to remove excess, 204 
held in the soil, 29 
irrigation, best way to use, 254 
by flooding, 254 
by furrows, 257 
contour check system, 

255 
filling the checks, 255 
how to apply, 253 
on slopes, 255 
wild flooding, 256 
loss by evaporation, 88, 93 
loss by seepage, 84 
measurement, acre inch, 263 
for irrigation, 262 
how to regulate, 262 
miner's inch, 263 
modules, 263 

moving, action on soil, 15 
pipes, 252 

required for arid soils, 265 
right, cost of, 
soil, cultivation to save, 163 

maintenance of, 75 
supply, influence of forests 

on, 84 
units in measuring, 263 
Water-built soils, 17 
Water-moving ability of soils, 92 
Water-moving ability of soils, test 

of, 95 
Water-table, 29 

height of, 82 
Water-wheels, as pumps, 249 
Weathering of rocks, 3, 5 
Weeders, types and use of, 156 
Weeds, best time to kill, 159 
cultivating to kill, 157 
Weeds, definition, 101 

discourage laziness, 103 



438 



INDEX 



Weeds, friendly words for, 102 

hoeing to kill, 180 

injury done by, 157 

in sown crops, 163 

recipes for, 101 

seeds of, 160 

when they thrive, 160 
Weight of soils, 26 
Wet soils are cold, 33 
When to plow, 134-136 
White mustard improves light sandy 

soils, 342 
White sweet clover a soil improver, 
341 



Wild flooding, irrigation by, 256 
Willow trees aid drainage, 78 
Wind as soU builder, 18, 50 
Windbreaks, hedges and trees as, 278 
Wind-built soils, 50 
Windmills, use and cost, 247 
Wisconsin, rotation in, 416 
Wood ashes benefit muck soils, 62 

ashes, effect of, 402 
Worn-out soils in special need of 
humus, 344 

how to restore, 342 
Wyoming, rotation in, 417 




SSaM9N03 JO AHV^an 



